This World So Cold
by PickurePoison01
Summary: Rowan Rogan is the huntress of the shadows. She travels across the country , exterminating all evil by order of the angels. But when she meets the Winchesters, she comes to find that her fate has been intertwined with Dean Winchester. During their adventures together, Rowan begins to question the pact she had made with Castiel: Becoming an Archangel Vessel. Dean/OC minor Sam/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Hunt_

The moon crept out from behind the veil of clouds, opening a new window of light through the darkness of the woods. A narrow dirt road wound through the forestry and slowly began to disappear under a blanket of overgrown grass and shrubs. Crickets chirped and wolves howled in the distance as a soft breeze slowly came out of nowhere and brushed through the trees leaves.

_Hunt_

The branches began to sway and creak in warning at the small women that stood in a clearing among the tall pines. She stood still, eyes closed, waiting for a noise to cross her ears and waiting for her prey to descend from the shadows. Her dark auburn hair bounced against her face as the wind grew stronger and howled louder, her leather jacket flapping violently. All hell was beginning to break loose and the wind beat against everything it came into contact with. Weak and old trees broke and fell to the ground in a loud, thunderous crash, and not once did the pale skinned women flinch, her concentration focused on the specific task at hand.

_Hunt_

Her eyebrows knitted when the air suddenly went stale and all noise seized to exist around her as if time were standing still.

"Hello Rowan."

_**Kill**_

Her eyes opened to the voice that broke the barrier of silence, seeing a tall, lean man standing in front of her with a smug smile. His white teeth radiated from the moonlight and his light brown eyes turned black, signaling his demonic nature, "I thought you would be a little more prepared for my arrival. Crowley has told me a lot about you and how dangerous you can be…" His eyes flickered back as he studied her features amusingly, softly laughing to himself, "I don't see how such a little creature such as yourself were able to kill almost every single demon he's sent after you. I can't exaggerate the word _kill _enough I mean, you don't just send them back to their wonderful life in hell, you down right exterminate them." He began to walk forward, his glowing eyes staring through her as he approached, "You've got quite the price on your soul… you should just give yourself up already. Running will do you no good at this point."

"You sure do talk a lot. I don't like a man who talks too much… it's such a turn off." Rowan smiled to herself and the demon narrowed his eyes curiously,

"Quite the big bark for such an inferior being."

"I try to get by." She shrugged and walked forward, placing her hands in her jacket pocket, kicking a small rock under her foot as her blue eyes glanced up at him, "So… what's the price this time? Does the winner get a piece of my soul or get to drink a pint of my blood?"

"Oh, you know very well what kind of bounty he has put out on you. Ever since the gate was opened and orders were sent out, every demon has been thirsting to tear open your flesh and rip that beating heart from your beautiful chest." Rowan smiled and stopped only feet from him, her eyes amused by his words,

"I'm touched that all you have been thinking about me. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that I'm such an honored prized for all you damned creations." The demon's smile crept across the face of his human host while his twisted thoughts formed into words,

"You're sister was the same way when she was drug down into the pit. Oh, how I remember her innocent face and pleading words when the hellhounds arrived, her soft flesh and tranquil flesh torn into pieces." Rowan's teeth gritted and her eyes narrowed hatefully,

"De mortuis nil nisi bonum!" The demon hissed and gripped his head and Rowan's lips continued to move, "Deo gratias, deus vobiscum, gloria in excelsis deo!"

"Don't speak in that tongue!" Both the demons and hosts voice meshed together as he flung out his hand in unimaginable force, thrusting her small frame up against a tree. Rowan gasped out in pain and attempted to arch her burning back, but the force of his power kept her completely still as he approached. He held his head with his free hand, "I'm going to cut that tongue right out of your mouth!" He growled and Rowan smiled, tilting her head toward him in a taunt as she stuck out her tongue,

"Come on, make my day!" She coughed out with a smile. His eyes flashed and he rushed forward, grabbing her by the neck as his fingers slowly began to choke the life out of her. Rowan struggled to breathe and her fingers clawed at the demons wrist, her fingernails digging into the skin of his human host. He only smiled in her feeble attempts to get away from his deadly grasp,

"I don't know what the hype is all about…" He snickered under his breath and Rowan's icy blue irises glanced down at him, the edges of her eyes becoming red from her strenuous breathing. She gritted her teeth and lifted her free legs, shoving them against his brute chest and knocking him back a few feet. She fell to the ground and gasped for air, coughing and rubbing her neck, feeling the burn marks the demon had left her fragile skin. Her eyes widened upon hearing his footsteps towards her and she jumped up, quickly swinging to the side upon seeing a black gun occupying his hand. Her ears rung when his finger pulled the trigger and missed her in the bullets sights and her light body quickly darted forward on the offense.

Rowan grabbed his arm and swung her fist, punching him in the face and kneeing him in the stomach. She grabbed his wrist and flipped it around his back, yanking it upward and snapping his bone at the elbow joint. He hissed and then laughed to himself, "Do you think broken bones can hurt me!?"

He thrust his free arm back, elbowing her in the face and she stumbled back away from his vulnerable state. Turning around, he ran forward and slammed his pistol on her back, her body falling to the ground with a thud. He grabbed her by her jacket and yanked her up, throwing her against a tree and letting her ragged body fall against the misty grass.

Gasping, Rowan's legs shook as her body rose, leaning on the tree behind her to gain leverage. The demon grabbed her face and thrust his forehead against hers, knocking her back against the hard trunk. She slid to the ground and the demon pointed his pistol at her, smiling to himself in a wide grin, "I'm a bit disappointed at how little of a fight you put up. Disabling my other arm was a smart move, but damn… you are just too weak. I don't know what Crowley sees in you to be honest." He pulled the hammer back on the pistol and Rowan looked up, staring at the barrel,

"See you in hell." The pistol went off with blunt force to the demons surprise as Rowan had smacked it away right as he pulled the trigger, the bullet just grazing her arm. She jumped up, slamming her fist into his cheek and sending him sliding into the cool grass below their feet. Rowan rubbed her shoulder, examining the blood quickly before looking down at the demon,

"You ruined my favorite jacket you asshole…" She walked up and knelt down, putting a knee on his chest, a hand on his neck, and her other hand planted on his bruised forehead. His eyes widened when he grabbed her arm in attempts to get her stone cold grip off, her hand not budging, "You want to know how your little buddies were exterminated?" He flinched when he felt an intense burning sensation on his neck as he choked out, black smoke beginning to seep from his lips. Rowan smiled and took a much needed breath, "Too bad you won't live to see why, exactly." Rowan's smile faded to a low grin as she concentrated, seeing a white light beginning to emanate from his eyes and mouth. While reciting a Latin exorcism in her head, she let go of his neck and raised her hand above his chest. The demon let out a shrieking wail as grey smoke began to disperse from his open mouth and eyes as if his impurities were being scared away by an intense heat. Rowan's breathing seized as she concentrated harder, her pupils blurring when she felt a warm liquid trickling from the corners of her eyes.

The shaking host body finally halted and the spell broke with a low gurgle coming from the depths of his throat. Rowan's breathing strained through her lungs as she panted and stumbled to her feet, staring down at the body and wiping the back of her hand across her face. Staring at the blood on her hand, she sighed and dropped it to her side, "Bleeding again?" She said with a disappointed breath while looking up at the muddle sky, letting it out slowly as she noticed her breath surfaced as a mist. Her head dipped down at the man once again, seeing steam rolling from his closed eyes and half open mouth. Kneeling down, she shoved her fingers against his jugular and sighed in relief upon feeling a lively pulse.

Standing back to her feet, she pulled her prepaid cell phone from her pocket, yanking it open and dialing a few numbers. The phone only rang once before the other end picked up, _"911 what's your emergency?"_

"Hi I was out patrolling my property line and I found a trespasser. He had a gun and I had to defend myself, so I kicked him to the curb and now he's unconscious. I would bring him it, but I only have a motorcycle. My driveway is the dirt road on highway 58 about twelve miles past the Stop-and-Go on the right, you'll see him I left a flare next to the body." Snapping the phone shut before the women could ask any more questions, Rowan stared down at the man one last time before turning and walking down the overgrown dirt path she came. Upon seeing her dark street bike, she ran her bloody hand through her hair and stopped once next to it. She grabbed her backpack that hung off the side, pulling out her pistols loaded with salt, shoving them back in their holsters,

"Guess I didn't need these stupid things." She tossed her backpack straps over her shoulders and straddled the motorcycle seat. Grabbing the key, she flipped it and turned over the engine, revving the gas as it roared loudly to life. She pulled the hanging helmet from one of the small handles and wrapped her hair up, shoving the helmet down securely on her head for safety. She reached back to a saddlebag of the roadster and pulled out a flare, slashing the top until it exploded to life. Reaching her arm back, she tossed it in the road parallel to the man's body.

Ramming her foot down on the gear shift, she revved the engine and let out the clutch, spinning the back tire of the crotch rocket before it finally grasped the dirt below its rubber, taking off down the road and leaving a large cloud of dust in her wake.

**.:=:.**

Rowan unlocked the door to her motel room, stepping into the warmth and closing the door before any more of the cold followed her in. She tossed the key on her bed, as well as her backpack, and groaned, grabbing her wounded shoulder and stretching it out. She hissed in slight pain and lowered her arm down to take off her jacket. With a tank top on underneath, she examined the extent of her injury, running her finger across the mauled flesh the bullet had ripped through.

She walked to her mini fridge and grabbed a bottle of half drank whiskey and then walked to her backpack, pulling out a roll of thread and a bent needle. She sat down in a chair at the small, round table that kept the lonely bed company in her absence and popped open the cap of the bottle. She tipped the bottle back and took two large swigs, swallowing the slightly bitter liquid as it warmed up her throat and entered her stomach. She pulled it from her lips and dangled the edge of the glass over her wound, pouring some of the sterile alcohol onto her disturbed flesh.

Her hand gripped the handle of the chair so tightly her fingernails dug into the wood, threatening to rip them off before she finally released her strong hand. Her head dipped over and her body cringed from the burning heat the whiskey produced as it ate away the bacteria forming. With one last swig of whiskey, she slammed the bottle down on the table and pulled out her lighter, flicking the ignition as the flame sprouted to life.

Holding the needle over the flame, she sterilized it to the point where it was red hot and threaded the needle through the hole of the other end, careful not to burn her fingers by the end. She snapped the long piece of thread with her teeth and took a deep breath, turning her head and holding breath before plunging the burning hot needle into her skin.

Hissing and gasping loudly, she managed to catch herself from lurching and gritted her teeth hard, staring over at the needle sticking from her skin. She grabbed the tip and pulled it out, her arm becoming numb from the pain and sterile whiskey as she pulled the thread through the two pieces of departed skin. She took another deep breath and repeated the process, this time, it not being as bad as the first.

Slowly, she weaved the needle and thread back and forth through her pale skin, only stopping to take swigs off her bottle of liquor. With a sigh of relief after the needle penetrated her skin one last time, she pulled the thread tightly and closed up the wound, putting the needle on the table and tying the end of the thread multiple times to make sure it wouldn't break in a time of desperation.

She grabbed the remote off the table and turned on the TV, seeing an old western occupying the screen. Sighing, she leaned her head back, feeling the warmth of the whiskey settling in her belly and her eyes glazing over. The pain that riddled throughout her body slowly began to dissipate and she closed her eyes with liberation, her arm pulsating fluently as if it had its own heart.

"Surprising that you let him get as far as he did." Rowan jumped and practically fell out of her chair, so startled her hand flung about and knocked over her bottle of whiskey. Upon seeing a friend in the room, rather than a foe, the adrenaline surging through her body calmed somewhat as she took a couple deep breaths to steady herself. She rubbed her forehead and groaned, hunching over,

"God dammit Castiel, don't you know how to use a friggen door!?"

"I would think that you would be expecting my appearances by now." Rowan rolled her eyes and sighed, staring into the angels equally blue eyes, seeing uncertain amusement dancing about in crystal blue irises. She leaned back in her seat and chewed on the inside of her lip, elevating her hand towards the chair across from her. Following her hand, he stared at the seat for a moment before moving towards it and sitting down. Rowan grabbed the downed whiskey bottle and motioned it towards him. He looked down at it and then back to Rowan, "You know I don't drink the devils nectar."

"Won't hurt if you try it once, Cas. You can be such a bore." She poured herself the rest of the light colored whiskey and sipped on the cup, staring over at him as her words began to grow soft and friendly, "So… what brings you here this time my beautiful guardian angel?" She asked sarcastically and Castiel looked at the cup of whiskey she was drinking, then back to her,

"That was a close call tonight, you need to stop being so reckless and toying with the demons. It's as if you have a death wish."

"Please Cas… were you watching the entire time? I bet you enjoyed seeing me get my ass handed to me."

"You know I couldn't intervene." He protested against her sarcasm. Rowan brought the glass to her lips and smiled,

"You could have… you just didn't want to."She tilted the glass back and took in the liquor into her mouth, swallowing it as her lips drew into a thin line from the bitterness. She rubbed her head and rested her chin on her hand, her eyes narrowing from fatigue,

"Cas… why do you make me do all this?" Her eyes looked went from the TV to his eyes,

"I've been going on almost a year now by myself… aimlessly travelling through the country… hunting… saving as many people as I can but… the hole in my heart, it's getting bigger…"

"You always sprout on about this when you start drinking." Castiel emotionlessly looked down at the lake of whiskey as it cascaded off the table, soaking up in the carpet below. He didn't know exactly what to say to the women,

"God has given you a reason to live and just for that reason you should keep on doing your duties as a righteous being. I didn't bestow power upon you so you could give up so quick and easily. Your soul is almost as strong as your will, but orders are orders." Rowan's blue eyes flickered to his,

"You're talking as if I'm already an angel." Castiel stood up, his long tan peacoat swaying with each step he took across the pale and dirty carpet below his feet. He stopped and looked out the window, seeing the rain beginning to drizzle from the unhappy sky beyond the looking glass,

"I was told to watch over and protect you for your sister and Ariel's sake. What good would you be to me dead?" He looked over his shoulder with a mocking manner,

"What would your sister think of it all?"

"Watch your tongue Cas…" Rowan warned and Castiel smiled softly to himself, glancing out the window one last time before walking back to her and grabbing a white cloth from the sink as he passed. He stood over the now intoxicated Rowan, handing the towel to her,

"Why didn't you heal that man's arm you broke?" Rowan took the white cloth and placed it on the table to Castiel's discontent, her head dipping and eyes lowering,

"I already overused my abilities exterminating the demon Crowley sent. They get stronger and stronger each time and with those times come my bleeding eyes."

"Crowley lusts for your soul. You wriggled out of your contract with him and he's not taking your promise to him for granted… it won't be good enough."

"He's a demon. Even if I'm captured, I'll never be good enough." Castiel continued to stand over her and studied her intriguing features,

"Instead of trying to exercise the demons out of the bodies to save the humans, why don't you just kill them? You will spare yourself so much pain."

"What kind of person would I be if I did that? I wouldn't be able to distinguish myself from demons or you pitiful angels." Amused by her tone, Castiel smiled slightly,

"I'm a bit disappointed that every time we meet, the liquor over powers you and we can't have a serious conversation about important matters."

"After a hunt… you can't expect me to confine myself to something like that. You're the one who shows up unannounced in the middle of the night after I start drinking. I know you watch me you creep, you know very well what I'm doing." Castiel stared down at the disheveled appearance and glazed eyes of Rowan, seeing as her eyes were beginning to well up in tears. He closed his eyes and sighed, opening them heavenly and placing his hand on her forehead.

Rowan's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body went limp, her head falling to the side against her wounded arm. Castiel stared at her for a moment with a solemn expression before wriggling his arm under her back and lifting her up with little effort, carrying her over to the dirty motel bed. He placed her down softly and covered her cold skin with the sheets,

"Such a poor human being…"

**.:=:.**

Rowan's face buried itself into her pillow and her body lied face down, sprawled out on the bed to the point where if she rolled over, she would surely fall off the stinky mattress. The TV was still on and the news started at exactly seven in the morning. An older blonde anchorwoman wore a dark blue suit and too much makeup for her worth, a stack of papers in her well maintained fingers as she stared into Rowan's room through the screen, starting off with the local news and weather.

There was a loud crash outside, startling Rowan to the point where she woke up. Her hand instantly shot under her pillow and yanked out her pistol from below, lifting her arm up and aiming it around the room. Not seeing an enemy in her sights, she draped her hand and pistol over the bed, shutting her eyes tightly and sighing, burying her face in the cigarette-scented pillow once again.

A knock came to the door and her eyes snapped open. She leaned up and looked at the door suspiciously, slowly getting out of bed. Her eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion when she noticed her pants and boots were still on, but upon hearing another knock at the door, this time, heavier than the first, she move towards the door with sheer caution.

With her pistol tucked closely to her leg, her hand twisted the doorknob and she cracked open the door slowly, staring out while hiding halfway behind the door. To her relief, she saw a small, Spanish woman in her work uniform staring up at her, "Oh I'm sorry, I was supposed to check room eight not eighteen. Did I wake you ma'am?" Rowan's face was grim with an early hangover eager to take over her face with a nasty expression. But she plastered a fake smile on her lips and nodded in order to help reassure the working woman,

"No, I woke up a little bit ago." Rowan removed her finger from the trigger and closed the door; rubbing her face and sighing while walking back towards the bed and sitting on the edge. She dropped her hand and looked over at the table, seeing her whiskey bottle empty and the two chairs pulled out. She leaned up and stared at the chairs, her eyes narrowing, "Hm… so Castiel showing up last night wasn't a dream."

"_A new story today, a man was killed just outside Sioux Falls yesterday and officials cannot distinguish the cause of death. Doctors say that a heart attack or overdose on his sleeping medication may have been the cause, but an autopsy will be performed in order to find out why he died." _

Rowan looked to the TV and leaned back on the bed to listen to the story, her curiosity growing by the second,_ "The man stated he had been seeing friends staring in through his window and doubles of the same person. He was later admitted to the Sioux Falls Behavioral Health facility by his wife but checked himself out only two days later. Since his departure from the health facility, he spent his nights out late, and sometimes, would return home to his wife days apart. If you have any information on Peter LaFlame and how he could have died, please report to the Sioux Falls Police Department immediately." _Rowan smiled to herself and stood up, stretching her back,"Well then… Sioux Falls is just about one hundred miles from here. Guess I better go check it out instead of staying here in this shit hole."

She rummaged around in her backpack and pulled out her black leather riding pants and quickly changed her clothing. She tied up her dark auburn hair and turned off the TV, shouldering her backpack and leaving her dirty motel room behind.

She walked to her black street bike and looked over her shoulder, seeing if anyone was around. Deeming it safe to exploit her secret stash, she quickly opened the large seat on the bike to reveal a small armory complete with all her Hunter needs. She stashed her pistols in their right holsters and quickly shut the seat before anyone could discover the secret.

She jumped on the seat of her trusted street bike, shoving the key into the ignition and turning the engine over with vigorous life. The cleaning lady watched with curiosity as Rowan's foot stepped down on the gear shift, her hand revving the throttle. Rowan glanced over through her helmet shield at the cleaning lady as she gripped her duster in her hand. Putting her hand up, her fingers formed into the peace sign as she sped off, the cleaning lady watching her wake as she too put up a peace sign hesitantly.


	2. Chapter 2

The screaming engine of Rowan's street bike came to a halt at a local bar in the town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She pulled her helmet off her head and shook her dark hair out as it fell down her back. She looked over the large buildings that stared her over, seeing the sun setting over the tops of their concrete and wooden rooftops. Her blue eyes glistened for a moment before returning to the task at hand. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her wallet and rummaged around inside the thin leather case.

"Damn… not enough money for a motel tonight. I used most of it on gas." Sighing, she slipped the wallet back into her pocket, pulling the key from the ignition and promptly resting her helmet on the throttle handle. She shouldered her backpack and stepped off her bike, walking on the sidewalk towards the bar doors.

Once in, she took a look around, seeing many people laughing and talking about. The many voices, drunk and sober, flooded her ears as she found an empty bar stool. A few men glanced at her as she sat down, their eyebrows knitting and their bodies turning to crowd around each other to speak in hushed tones like popular teenage girls in a hallway.

"What'll ya have girly?" The bartender walked up, her curly blonde hair bouncing with each step she took and a glistening white smile overtook her face. Rowan stared at her skimpy outfit, complete with a torn up halter top, in which her massive cleavage showed, and short skirt that barely stretched down to her mid-thigh. She couldn't have been more than twenty years old but the outrageous makeup she wore told a different story.

Rowan snickered under her breath at a thought, making the bartender pout and raise one of her penciled-on eyebrows, "Did I say something funny?"

"No, no! I'll just have a Jack on the Rocks for now." The bartender glanced at her for a moment before turning and walking back to the massive shelving of liquor.

Rowan's head flicked in the back area of the bar upon hearing pool balls smacking together like clapping hands. A sly smile crossed her face and her blue eyes narrowed in on the green felt of the billiards table in which large men were gathered around it.

Being raised in pool halls all over the country definitely had its advantages.

The bartender wasted no time in arriving with Rowan's called glass of dark whiskey, setting it down in front of her. Taking whatever money she had left out of her wallet, she slammed it down on the bar and towed her backpack in one hand, carrying her precious whiskey in the other. She dropped her bag on a chair and walked up to the pool table, leaning against the wooden frame as a man was bent over to shoot,

"Would you boys interest me in a game?" She glanced up at the rest of the grumpy looking bikers as they stared her down. She refused to be distracted from her goal as she looked back at the younger biker she aimed her words mostly to. He stood back up straight and his eyes greedily stared her over,

"A game, huh? Are we going to play for keeps? Or did you want me to teach you?"

"Keeps of course and money to be a little more specific." She sipped on her whiskey glass and glanced at the smiling and snickering men on the other side of the table, returning her icy gaze back to the young biker. He couldn't help but smile to himself, thinking Rowan's request was a mere joke,

"Money? How much you wanna wager?"

"Well… you see… I'm broke as of a couple minutes ago. I had to pay for my warming friend in my hand here." He chuckled and then shook his head,

"You have no business at my table then. Scram Pippy Longstocking." Rowan growled in her throat but continued to stay persistent. If she didn't earn the money to pay for a motel room, she would have to pull an all-nighter and try her luck in the next town over the next day. Sleep was something she refused to pass up,

"Oh come on… you don't want to play me? Scared?"

"Scared? Hardly." He focused his eye on his shot, pulling the cue stick back and slamming it into a solid colored ball, sinking it in a corner pocket. Rowan spiced up the conversation, moving in a little closer,

"We don't have to wager money, you know…" She said in a low tone and a hearty smile. He glanced up upon hearing her seductive tone, her brown eyes flickering,

"Name your price pretty boy." She smirked and winked, the man raising an eyebrow for a few moments before grinning,

"Alright. If I win… you have to come back with me to my hotel room tonight."

"I can deal with that… but if I win, you fork over five hundred bucks. Take it or leave it."

"Something I can't pass up for a pretty little thing like you." He said as he reached into his wallet and yanked out five hundred dollars, throwing the wad of cash on the frame of the pull table. Rowan walked up to one of the biker bystanders, yanking the pool stick from his grasp and turning back to the table. She grabbed a cube of chalk and chalked the top,

"You rack boy." The bikers exchanged looks, their faces befuddled at the challenge of the mere and small women they towered over. Rowan sipped on her whiskey, watching the biker rack up the pool balls in their triangular prison. Once he lifted the triangle off the table, she took a deep breath and chugged the rest of her liquor, shuddering and shaking her head from the kick of the dark whiskey.

She slammed the glass down on the table where her backpack rested and turned to the opposite side of the table, lining the white cue ball up on the far right of the pool table. The bikers eyebrows drew together slightly at her odd antic and watched as she bent over, pulling the cue stick back. Her eyes concentrated and her brain thoughts crowded around in her skull, trying to put the geometrics of the table together.

Finally, with an unrelenting force, she slammed the tip of the pool stick into the cue, the torque from the stick mimicking itself through the ball as it broke the huddle pool balls into diverse pieces. The balls bounced from one end of the table to the other until they finally came to a stop. She watched as the solid colored five and seven balls sunk into different pockets, smiling to herself as she leaned up and cocked her hip,

"Solids." The gang of bikers all exchanged surprised glances with each other; not even they could break a rack across the table. Rowan leaned back over the table and lined up the cue ball with another solid. She took a deep breath and sunk the shot once again, moving to her next target. One after another, only missing once, she planted the balls into their pocket homes and completely cleared the solids of the table.

With one last ball in mind, the black eight, she lined the cue up with the far edge of the ball, aiming for a middle pocket. Softly tapping the stick against the white speckled orb, the eight ball slowly rolled into the pocket and landed with a hard crack.

Rowan leaned up and leaned on the pool stick, smiling at her straight forward victory, "Well then, I believe that's a new record for me."

The biker's faces were priceless in her eyes. She laid her cue stick on the pool table and walked over to her cash prize on the other side of the table. She grabbed the five hundred dollars with arrogance and proceeded to shove the money in her pocket before her wrist was grabbed by a hand with a rather humiliated grip.

Rowan's blue irises met with the dark brown eyes of her opponent with a distasteful expression, "I think you hustled me."

"Hustle? Please. I don't hustle, that's for low life's and underdogs."

"Give me back my money."

"Oh ho? I won it fair a square. Men can be such sore losers." Rowan said and the bikers other hand latched onto her handful of money, attempting to pry her fingers from the crinkled bills. The harder he struggled to tear apart her fingers, the tighter Rowan's hand clenched onto her fistful of dollars.

"There a problem here boys?" Rowan's head turned to the side, as well as the group of bikers, to see two men walking up. One was shorter than the other, but not by much, with lighter brown hair, the other taller with longer, darker hair parted at the middle. Their eyes held a blue consistency with each other as they stared at the much larger bikers, not intimidated by their stature.

The biker held his deadly grip on Rowan's wrist, her hand now started to feel numb after he cut off the circulation to her fingers, "Why don't you two get lost before there is a problem?"

"Putting a hand on a woman, you must be one tough son of a bitch, huh?" The smaller man replied with a cocky grin and the biker scoffed, shaking his head and continuing his attention towards the boys,

"You really don't want to mess with me right now boy; I'm not in the mood."

"Neither am I anymore." Rowan retorted before latching her free hand on his extended arm. She turned and shoved her knee as hard as she could into his gut, his breath escaping his mouth with a choke and his deadly grasp on her wrist faded. He wrapped his arms around his hurting stomach and Rowan wrapped her forearms around his neck, turning, and flipping him over her shoulder. He landed on his back with a loud thud and the people around them stared in awe, their mouths dropped and their eyes wide.

Rowan tucked the winning money in her pocket and hovered over him, smiling at his confused face, "Try picking on someone your own size next time. You might actually have a chance of intimidating them." Rowan leaned back up and grabbed her backpack from the table behind her. She turned back towards the two equally confused men that had walked up only seconds before, smiling at their puzzled faces. She reached into her pocket as she walked towards them, slapping her hand on the chest of the smaller man, "Here's for distracting him for me." Her hand slid off his chest when she felt his hands grab the item occupying her palm. Her feet creaked across the wooden floor below her feet, her hand latching onto the handle of the doorway. She opened it and disappeared into the night air, leaving the two boys to wallow in their confusion.

The taller man looked down to his brother as he held a fifty dollar bill in his hand, "Dean? What just happened…?"

**.:=:.**

The next day, the sky was droll with a mix of grey and white clouds that cascaded over the mountains lazily. The large town wasn't on fire with spit-rocket people that thrived in the darkness and only lied dormant with the early morning hangovers of a forgotten night.

Rowan stepped out of a beautiful Mercedes-Benz and shut the door quietly, staring across the street at the old townhouse that managed to stand out the most on the street. She straightened out her formal jacket, looking down from her waist to her feet, and nodded to herself. Making sure her persona was complete, she walked across the street and opened the white, picket fence gate.

Strolling up the small steps, careful in her high heels, she softly knocked on the hardwood door and reached into her pocket. Hearing footsteps approaching the door, she looked down as the doorknob turned slowly and door slowly, a pale, old women peeking through the crack of the open space.

"May I help you…?" Her voice was tired and raspy, seeming a bit strained as if she had just woken up. Rowan smiled softly and pulled her fake ID out of her pocket, flipping the top flap open to reveal her badge,

"Hello Mrs. LaFlame. I'm Detective Mustaine with the FBI, I'm here to talk about your husband's death if you have the time."

"The FBI? But, I already talked to the sheriff numerous times. Why would they call you people here?"

"Well, your husband's death has been linked to a string of deaths across the country. Most likely a serial killer traveling from state to state, but we're not exactly sure." The widow looked down for a moment as if her breath were drawn out to the point where she couldn't breathe. She pulled the door open and nodded at Rowan,

"Come on in dear…" Rowan stepped in from the cold and heard the heavy door close behind her. She looked around the warm house, seeing many pictures of family, friends, and how humble the home presented itself. She stopped by the fire place, looking at a picture of her and Mr. LaFlame on top of a mountain in their ski gear,

"We went to Canada a couple years ago for a skiing trip, it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen."

"I'm sorry to hear about Mr. LaFlame's death, it must have been hard on your family." Rowan followed the widow into the small kitchen, sitting down once Mrs. LaFlame pulled a chair out for her,

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, no thank you. I don't like coffee, it'll stunt my growth." The old woman cracked a smile as she walked over and poured herself a glass of the black liquid, not even putting sugar or creamer in to spice it up.

"I can tell you're quite the joker. I bet your division must love you."

"Eh… you don't even know the half of it…" Rowan mumbled under her breath and the widow looked at her confused,

"Did you say something?"

"No! No, um… so tell me about a bit about Peter, what exactly was his behavior like leading up to his death?" Rowan asked humbly, not wanting to push the old, grieving woman too far. The widow's mouth drew into a thin line and she sipped on her coffee, her fingertips growing white from gripping the mug too hard. Her hazel eyes danced from grain to grain on the hardwood table,

"It all started about a month ago, Peter kept seeing someone following him home. But every few days, the person would be different like age, height, gender… it was all so confusing when he started telling me. I begged him to start taking my car to his job, but he refused and continued to take the bus. About a week and a half after… he began to grow more panicked, saying he was seeing an old friend that had died almost six months ago. He wouldn't stop talking about it… besides that, he said he was beginning to see doubles of people one after another. He would walk past them on the street, or see them go into his office, and minutes later they would come in again, even going as far as seeing them in the same room together."

Rowan's eyebrows knitted together during her story, her mind filing through her supernatural beings. She looked up at the woman, "What kind of work was Peter in?"

"He was a lawyer."

"So… he made a lot of money then? Tell me, does he have a high security deposit? Or some money stashed away somewhere?" The woman's eyebrows knitted together and her fingers tapped nervously on the mug that warmed her hands. Meekly, she nodded and stared into Rowan's blue eyes,

"Yes… he's been stashing money for our retirement in a savings account at our bank. We were supposed to leave to Europe next spring…" Rowan put her hand on the fragile hand of the widow and she glanced up at the faulty FBI agent, staring into sincere and empathetic eyes,

"I'm sorry for your loss… I know how hard it is to lose someone you love dearly." The widow drug her other hand from the coffee mug and placed it on top of Rowan's hand, patting it softly. Rowan sighed softly, "Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your husband?"

"No… I can't at all. You were asking about his money, did you honestly think someone would hurt him for that reason?"

"These days, you can never be too certain." Rowan pushed her chair back and stood to her feet, "Ma'am, I can assure you that I will try my absolute best to find your husband's killer."

"Thank you detective…" Rowan pulled a card out of her jacket and slid it towards the woman on the table,

"If you have anything else you can tell me, just give me a call."

"Thank you…" She grabbed the card and stared at it, rubbing her fingers over the pale paper it had been printed on. Rowan turned and her heels clanked against the hard wood flooring, pausing for a few steps when they had come into contact with a few rugs.

She shut the heavy door behind her and started down the steps towards the car she had stolen. Looking both ways before she crossed the street, she opened the door to the Mercedes and slipped her small figure it, growling to herself,

"Ugh! Stupid heels I don't see how woman can trudge around in these abominations! I can't stand them!" She tore the shoes from her feet and threw them against the passenger side door. Slamming her head against the headrest, she let out a sigh and tilted her eyes over; staring at the small townhouse she had recently left.

Her eyes narrowed when she noticed two men clad in black suits, looking about as they walked up the steps towards the house. They knocked on the door and the widow opened it in the same manner she had with Rowan.

"No way…" They flashed their 'badges' and the widow's face contorted into confusion. Rowan quickly fired the ignition of the stolen sports car and shoved it into gear, casually driving away to avoid any unwanted suspicions.

**.:=:.**

Rowan lied in her semi-comfortable motel bed, staring at the book above her that her hand lazily gripped onto. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her face grew concentrated, reading word for word from an old book her father had written.

"_Having been born an ugly animal, shape shifters are usually greedy and jealous creatures, hence why they shape shift into other beings. They will usually take over the lives of their host, torment those around them, or play with others just for the fun of it. They will induce their own misery on the humanistic world around them."_

Rowan slammed the book on her face and sighed, hearing the television in the background. She lazily drug the book across her face and stretched her arms before resting them behind her head.

A cheesy horror movie stared her in the face and she watched a bloody and battered female scream for her life and run through the forest. She kept looking behind her for the crazy murderer that was chasing her, "Trip and fall."

The girl tripped and slid in the wet grass, leaves and mud sticking to her attire. She lied on the ground in shock for a few moments before jumping up to run again, "Run into the murderer."

The girl let out a blood curdling shriek as she slammed into the murderer, falling to the ground once again. She looked up and crawled backwards, beginning to scream more and more as she sluggishly attempted to crawl away. "Now she dies."

The murderer rose the axe over his head and slammed it down with unrelenting force onto the girls head, splitting her skull down the middle. Rowan rolled her eyes and turned her head towards the window, seeing the dusky sun's rays poking thrown the cigarette-stained curtains. She rubbed her hand down her face and lazily clasped her fingers across her chest, closing her eyes. "Guess a few hours of shut eye wouldn't hurt until the sun goes down…"

An annoying ringing sound came out of nowhere and Rowan slowly opened her eyes sleepily. She finally jolted completely awake when she realized that the annoying ringing was her phone. She lifted her torso up at rubbed her head, staring at the clock that had read _1:47 am_. Once realizing she had slept for almost five hours, she snatched her phone from the night stand and flipped it open,

"Hello…?" She drowsily asked, waiting for the response from the other side. Knitting her eyebrows, she waited for a few more seconds before speaking again,

"Hello-?"

"_Detective! Detective I need your help!"_

"Mrs. LaFlame? What's going on? What's wrong?"

"_It's my husband! Oh Lord! It's my husband he broke into my house!" _Eyes wide, Rowan jumped to her feet and immediately went for her street bike keys and jacket,

"Mrs. LaFlame! Get out of your house right now that's not your husband!"

"_He's trying to get in my room I don't know what to-!" _The line suddenly went dead and Rowan froze, her breathing halting as she heard the other line beep twice before the call ended,

"Mrs... Mrs. LaFlame?" With no left response, Rowan snapped her phone shut and ran out the door to her bike. Without bothering putting the helmet on, she shoved the key into the ignition, cranked on the ignition, and sped out of the parking lot as fast as she could.

Her loud bike came to an abrupt halt and she kicked the kickstand down, jumping off the bike and running up the steps to the widow's house. Noticing the door had been already cracked, she stopped and took a deep breath, pulling the slide back on her pistol.

Slamming open the door with her foot, she jumped in, her gun risen just in case the perpetrator was still in the house. It was oddly quiet, and the only sound Rowan's ears could pick up were the soft ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner. Taking a steady breath, she began to walk through the house with caution, seeing the perfectly humble house disturbed with broken items and furniture strung all over the place.

She stopped when she noticed blood splattered across the floor as she entered the kitchen. Raising her gun close, she walked in further and stopped, letting out a held breath and shaking her head. She gritted her teeth and turned around, kicking one of the kitchens chairs into the wall, "Dammit…"

She glanced over her shoulder at the body of Mrs. LaFlame, her throat's skin gaping with a large cut. She lied motionlessly, her eyes closed and her body sprawled out. Rowan's eyes narrowed as she walked up to the corpse when she spotted a knife next to her body. It was stained in blood, but the shade was darker than Mrs. LaFlame's own and Rowan grabbed it, staring at the blade. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the drippy blood trail she had followed in was not the blood of the victim, but the prey she had been hunting.

"He wouldn't be bleeding like that if this knife weren't made with silver…" She looked from the blade to the widow's cold, dead corpse, "I'm sorry I didn't make it in time."

Standing to her feet, Rowan slowly followed the black blood trail out towards the door, seeing a bloody hand print on the door frame. Walking back outside, she saw the droplets of blood staining the concrete steps and leading out into the street. She stopped and stared up the street, seeing the steel cover of a sewage pipe resting next to the drop hole.

"I wasn't expecting him to strike so fast. At least I know where to find him now." She crawled down the ladder into the dark sewer, her nose twisting as she rose the back of her hand to her mouth before coughing. Shuddering from the smell, she gathered herself and clicked on her flashlight, walking forward.

Her boots splashed against the many water puddles that she came into contact with. The dripping water from above cascaded to the concrete below it, creating a very musky and cold atmosphere. Her pistol rested against her thigh as she moved quickly through the dripping sewer, crawling around corners and jumping over obstacles.

"Gross…" Rowan's flashlight caught a glimpse of a bright substance, Rowan looking away and groaning to herself. The old shed skin of the shape shifter stunk worse than the smell of death, making Rowan gag and quickly step over it. But to her dismay, the entire concrete corridor was covered with shards of skin, blood, and piles of flesh that almost covered the entire ground she walked over.

"Don't throw up… don't throw up…" The only thing that managed to gross Rowan out in her line of work were shape shifters and their piles of shed flesh.

A shiver went up her spine when she felt her boot step on something squishy and the sound it made only made her demeanor worse. Looking down with the flashlight, she saw that her boot was shin-high in a pile of flesh. She choked out and leaned her arm on the cold concrete wall, resting her forehead on her cold jacket. Feeling a warm sensation crawl up the back of her throat, she knew that the bile of her stomach was slowly creeping up, ready to be released.

Her head shot up upon the sound of loud gunshots not far from her position. Forgetting about the lake of flesh she was trekking through, her attention now turned towards the gunshots she was hearing. She yanked her foot out of the skin pile and ran forward, her finger on the trigger of her gun and her flashlight illuminating the way in front of her.

Just then, she heard a loud voice echoing off the walls of concrete around her, stopping instantly and sucking to the wall. She shut off her flashlight and looked around the corner, seeing a maze of steaming pipes. She noticed the head of a tall man, staring down and speaking in an angry voice. Rowan narrowed her eyes when she saw a piece of skin missing from his face and took a deep breath, putting her flashlight in her pocket and walking around the corner.

She used the large pipes to her advantage and moved around them as silently as she could.

"You boys have been eager to find me, haven't you?"

"Well, a sick son of a bitch like you can't be hard to forget about. Preying on people more fortunate than you are, it's pretty sad for an ugly bastard such as yourself." Rowan heard a gun cock and froze for a moment,

"I think you'd be a little smarter about what comes out of that mouth of yours. I mean, you are the ones at gunpoint, not me." Rowan noticed the faces of the two boys on their knees, hands risen in the air as the shape shifter's hand steadied the pistol. They were the two same men from the bar the night before, making Rowan grow suspicious.

"Well I've been known for not being able to keep my mouth shut." He said with a smug smile and the shape shifter only laughed to himself,

"Well then, that's going to be the death of both you and your precious little brother." The shape shifter tightened both his hands on the pistol grip and aimed steadily while putting his finger on the trigger,

"Well, this cat and mouse game was truly amusing."

"It wasn't much of a game." The shape shifter turned his head just as two bullets pierced his chest, the gunshots blaring throughout the sewers and piercing the ears of the brothers as they shoved their hands to cover them. The shape shifter fell to the cold ground, blood beginning to trickle from his mouth as his cloudy eyes stared at the ceiling. "For me, anyways." Rowan put her pistol back in her jacket pocket and turned around, walking back the path in which she came.

"Hey!?"

"Wait!" She stopped and tilted her head over her shoulder, seeing a sawed off double barrel pistol pointed at her back. She rolled her eyes and looked forward,

"You gonna kill the person who saved your asses?"

"Who are you?" The taller man asked and Rowan cocked her head,

"You don't need to know."

"Don't give us that crap. The only way shape shifters can be killed is with silver. He's put down for a nice beauty sleep so the only way that could have happened was if those bullets in your gun were made of silver."

"You two are real observant." Rowan mused more to herself than the ones who held who at gunpoint. Slowly, she turned around to face them,

"Are you a hunter?" Rowan's eyes flickered over to the taller brother, then back to the other,

"Answer the question."

"Or what? You're going to shoot your savior in cold blood _just_ because I won't tell you my name? You're not those kind of hunters, are you?"

"How did you-?!" Rowan tore the gun from the man's hand and shoved the end into his face, knocking him to the ground. The taller brother launched his large stature at Rowan and swung his arm at her. She grabbed it and yanked him towards her, kneeing him in the stomach and then in the face as he dropped to his knees. He groaned as he rolled on the ground in slight pain and Rowan smiled and turned around to walk away.

Her arms were grabbed and held behind her back as she was slammed up against a cold wall. The strong force behind her shoved her hand and he cheek rested against the concrete,

"You're quieter than you seem." She laughed to herself and she felt the heat of his voice radiate around her ear,

"I'm not like other hunters… so tell me who the hell you are before I plug a bullet into your head!"

"You can't intimidate me that easily." Rowan shoved the back of her head into his face and he stumbled back, holding his nose as he bled,

"You bitch!" Before he knew it she had knocked him to the ground again and she hovered over him with a smug smile,

"Maybe you can catch me next time, tiger."


	3. Chapter 3

_Breckinridge, Colorado_

Rowan blazed down the highway, weaving in between cars to avoid any delay. She was already running late on her case because of a flat tire and her aggravation could not get any worse. She twisted the handlebar and revved the engine higher, reaching speeds of up to 110 miles an hour to kill time.

Finally finding the exit she was looking for, she quickly darted off to the side and the black street bike jolted down the exit. She shoved her foot down on the break as she came to a stop light, slowing to safer speeds as she entered the populated town. Her eyes scanned her surroundings through her closed helmet until she found a nicer motel only a few blocks from the bar.

She pulled in and quickly paid for her room, wasting no time to settle herself in before she began her work. She found a local paper and studied it thoroughly, seeing that the coverage of her case was still in the days papers.

_**9 people disappear at Jefferson house in past month**_

_The Jefferson house is a very old and run down house on the outskirts of town. It was an old bed and breakfast that was used in the late 1800's for tourists and travelers that passed by and needed a place to stay for the night. Over a course of forty years in business, Ronald Jefferson suddenly disappeared out of nowhere and to this day, no one knows where he disappeared to. Suffering from intense depression, Lola Jefferson committed suicide by hanging herself in the dining room on a busy night. The bed and breakfast was closed the next day and it continues to rot on the 300 acres the Jefferson family still owns._

Rowan already had an idea on what she was hunting. Disappearances, as well as confusing murders, were all too common in creepy old houses. But just to be sure, Rowan stuffed her backpack full of ghost hunting gear and changed into her faulty FBI outfit, and this time, she wore pants. She put up her hair in a clip and laced on a light shade of lipstick, smacking her lips together.

Taking a deep breath, she stared at herself in the mirror for a few moments. Her eyes looked down to as far as the mirror let her, and then slowly, back up to her eyes. She straightened herself out and fixed her dark red hair. The icy oceans of her eyes flickered as she stared at herself.

_Lonely_

_Despondent_

_Miserable_

She closed her eyes tightly and swept up the negative thoughts in her mind quickly. She didn't need anything else interrupting her case, not now at least. She grabbed her room key and exited the room, sliding her backpack over her back and jumping on her crotch rocket.

She found her way to the Sheriff's department and parked a block away to avoid any suspicious impressions with the police. She pulled her fake ID out of her backpack and hid it in some bushes so no one could steal her precious loot.

"Hello there, Captain, I'm Detective Dickinson with the FBI. May I talk to you for a few moments?" Rowan flashed her fake badge to the Sheriff Captain and he stared at it confusingly, then back to Rowan. He leaned up and let out a large sigh, staring at her suspiciously,

"Didn't your fellow officers converse with you earlier?" "Fellow officers…?"

She stared at him with equal confusion, her hearts beating beginning to gradually quicken in fear that she would be found out. The large, fat Captain nodded, tucking his thumbs into his belt,

"Detectives Page and Harrison were here just about an hour ago. I gave them the run down on the situation, they never called you?" Rowan put on her charm and smiled, making the best of the situation as much as she could,

"Oh! Those two… yeah, they're just a couple of jealous jellies because the Captain likes me more than them. I'm one of the best in our units and they just can't handle the fact that a girl is better than both of them put together." The Captain began to chuckle to himself, his large belly erupting upwards off his belt as he did so. Rowan snickered to herself as well, milking the situation the best she could. The Captain rubbed his forehead, his laughter subsiding into a smile,

"Oh, well we got a couple of you around here, too. I don't really have much to do at the moment, so I don't think it's a huge deal if I fill you in on what's happening. I don't like the Feds much, but you seem like a pretty laid back character." He waved at her to follow him and they entered his office. The Captain pulled a chair out for Rowan and she took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as he sat in his chair behind his clattered desk. Rowan tilted her head once he leaned back in his chair to relax,

"So then, let's start off with the disappearances. When did they begin to occur?"

"About a month ago, on the nineteenth. The victims were young adults and teenagers sent into the house by dares. Hours would pass and they never came out of the house. We investigated, but we never found any trace of the victims. It's like they were snatched out of thin air."

"Did you find any traces of sulfur, blobs of mush, or did the house seem unusually cold at all?"

"Sulfur and blobs of mush?"

"Yeah, sorry it's just procedure." Rowan smiled and nodded, The Captain's eyebrows drew together in confusion and his mouth drew into a thin line. Rowan's blue eyes scanned his facial expressions, seeing that something was disturbing him,

"The house always seems cold when I go in there. It's just a creepy old, run down house. I just think it comes with the territory."

"Do you have a file I could look at?"

"Oh! Yes, sure." He quickly began to rummage through his stocked pile of files on his cluttered desk. Papers flew everywhere and his clumsy hands knocked down anything that came into contact with him. Finally, his hand found what he was looking for, and just to be sure, he opened the fat file and shut it quickly, handing it over to Rowan. She rested it on her lap and opened the file, staring over the police reports and glancing at the pictures of the victims. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly,

"All the victims were male?"

"Yeah. Some girls would go in and it seems they were the lucky ones." Rowan hummed in her throat and she pulled out a picture, staring at it with curiosity. It had been taken by the phone of one of the victim's friends, so the quality wasn't very good, but something definitely caught Rowan's eye. She moved the picture closer to her face as she saw a tiny white orb barely visible in the corner. She took a breath and her eyebrows rose when she saw a figure standing in the window. She couldn't make it out completely, but it was definitely some sort of figure not captured there by accident.

"Did any of the friends notice anything suspicious?"

"Some didn't, but a couple kept seeing objects moving about out of the corner of their eyes. If I wasn't so skeptical, I'd say the ghost of Mrs. Jefferson was messing with them." Rowan smiled in a joking manner at the skeptical Sheriff,

"Would you say that Mrs. Jefferson was the one kidnapping these young men?" The Captain laughed to himself and his belly bounced once again, his cheery smile glaring over at her,

"If we were speaking in imaginary terms, I would definitely say yes!" Rowan nodded and stood to her feet, tossing the file back on the desk. She put her hands on her cocked him,

"Well then, Captain, I would love to sit here and discuss imaginary theories with you, but I must be on my way. Loads of work to be doing!"

"It was nice meeting you Ms. Uh…"

"Dickinson."

"Oh yes, sorry. Too many Feds to deal with today!"

"It's quite alright, sir. I will stay in touch." Rowan exited the station and followed the sidewalk to the alley where her street bike waited patiently. She pulled her hair out of her clip with her eyebrows knitted together, her brain working hard. She continued to stare at the picture she stole from the file, "No doubt it's a ghost..." She finally rounded a corner into an alley and stopped next to the bike, unclipping the secret latch on the seat and lifting it up. She tossed in her fake badge and ripped off her jacket, leaning on the motorcycle and flipping open the days newspaper. She found the headline she read earlier, quickly scanning through the article until she found what she was looking for,

_Mrs. Jefferson succumbed to a deep depression before she died, often traveling the streets in hopes of finding her husband. With no avail, she would try to woo stray men that would stay at her large home in attempts to fill the hole in her heart. But rejection only sunk her deeper and caused her suicidal demise._

Rowan rubbed her head, tangling her fingers into her wavy red hair. She tilted her head and sighed, slapping the newspaper down on her knee. "So… her ghost kidnaps men to fill the void of her loneliness…?" The sun was dwindling behind the mountains and the gold and purple horizon illuminated the sky. Rowan turned around and slammed her seat shut, jumping on the bike and shoving the key into the ignition.

.:=:.

The cold air washed over with a mist as Rowan put her bike in neutral and glided across the old dirt road in the trees. It finally came to a stop and she hopped off the seat, rolling the large street bike in the trees to hide it. She reached into the seat and pulled out her sawed off shotgun, loading as many rock salt shells as it could hold. She tucked her pistol in the back of her pants, the cold steel resting against the small of her back.

She glanced over at the dark and decrepit house that waited behind her. She cocked her shotgun and slammed shut her bike's seat, turning and cautiously began to approach the house. Her dark red hair blew around her face as the mist hovered above the ground from the slight breeze. She rose her shotgun and kicked open the side door of the house, jumping in as her blue eyes quickly scanned the room.

The walls were rotted and cased over with moss and mold. The floors and ceilings possessed large holes and cracks that would give way at any moment. Rowan trekked lightly as her boots softly thumped against the old wood flooring, her finger rattling on the trigger, waiting for something to pop out of thin air.

Her ears suddenly picked up movement and she quickly sucked her body against the decaying wall. She narrowed her eyes and tucked the butt of the shotgun against her shoulder, resting the back of her head on the wall behind her. She silently took a breath and let it out slowly, thinking that the intruders may have been more curious kids here on a dare. The footsteps suddenly halted in the room behind her and she held her breath.

All or nothing.

She jumped out from behind the wall, aiming her shotgun only to be met by the barrels of two other guns. She swallowed a dry lump and couldn't help but smirk to herself, "Well, well, well… we meet again boys." She stared into the two pairs of eyes of the men she had met in the sewers a couple days before.

"Why are you following us?" Rowan's eyes flickered over to the shorter boy, noticing he had a hand held double barrel sawed off pointed straight at her face,

"Following you? What makes you think I'm following you?"

"Don't get smart!"

"You're out gunned here." Rowan glanced at the taller boy,

"I can see that, Beanstalk."

"Why are you here?" She turned her attention back to the shorter man,

"I'm here for the ghost. I presume you two are, too?" She raised her eyebrows with a matter-of-fact tone and continued to hold them at gunpoint. She knew the two brothers didn't know what to make of her and it amused her,

"Put down your gun and let's resolve this."

"No, you two put down your guns." She retorted and she noticed the smaller, more handsome man's eyes narrow,

"Not gonna happen, sweetheart."

"Well, I'm not gonna put my gun down for your either, pretty boy."

"We're not going to get anything done by standing here arguing with each other." The taller boy looked down at his brother. He nodded,

"Alright, Sammy. You stay here and watch this chick and don't let her out of your sight. I'm gonna go upstairs and try to find out ghostly friend."

Rowan slowly let out a deep breath and her eyes narrowed as it surfaced in front of her face. A chill slid down her spine and a small smirk couldn't help but form on her lips, "Looks like she found us."

"Dean!" Sam shouted from the side and they all turned, seeing the apparition of Mrs. Jefferson glaring at the boys. With a loud scream, she reached her arms out towards them and lurched forward in an attack. But sooner than she appeared, she blew apart and Rowan's shotgun smoked from the barrel, her ears ringing from the intense sound.

The boys stared at her with shock and she walked towards them, "She won't be gone long, you idiots! Let's get to-!" Rowan felt a force slam into her chest and she flew into the wall, cracking the wood as she fell to the ground. The ghost slammed Dean into another wall and turned her attention towards Sam, snarling at him as her greedy fingers clawed for him. Sam pulled the trigger on his shotgun and blew her ectoplasmic body into smithereens, looking over his shoulder,

"Dean! You alright!?"

"I'm fine…" He groaned while getting to his feet. "Where are those bitches' bones?" Sam looked over as Rowan growled and walked up to him, her demeanor less than happy,

"She was cremated."

"Oh, my day just gets better and better, doesn't it?" She rubbed her head and arched her back,

"Are you alright?"

"You shouldn't be worrying about me, kid, worry more about yourselves."

"Sam! We need to find that object!" Dean ran towards Sam and Rowan's eyes widened. She pointed her gun at Dean,

"What're you-!?" She pulled the trigger and the head of the ghost exploded with rock salt. Dean looked behind him just as the apparition disappeared, then back to Rowan,

"Thanks." Rowan ran past him and around the corner,

"Hey!?"

"Dean, we have to find that object quick before this thing keeps trying to kill us. We'll deal with her later if she's still around!"

Rowan quickly ran through the hallways of the house, tearing open doors and looking into empty rooms. A million thoughts ran through her mind on the types of objects that the ghost would still be attached to. In this large of a house, it would take forever to find it. She stopped when she heard muddle footsteps upstairs, looking at the ceiling and seeing waterfalls of dust and dirt cascading from the cracks of the wood. She knew the two boys were already upstairs searching and she stayed on the lower floor.

She ran into a bedroom and clicked on her flashlight, staring around the room. Dusty furniture clad in white sheets crowded the room, along with old boxes full of trinkets and other past memorabilia. She quickened towards a large vanity and tore open the drawers, seeing nothing in any of them. She kicked the old vanity and turned with a low growl in her throat, her back throbbing from hitting the wall. She searched another dresser, but to no avail did she find an object that would be linked to the ghost in any way.

She noticed a door behind a couch that leaned up against it. She walked up to the dark colored couch sofa and grabbed the arm, shoving it to the side and sliding it from the doorway. She grabbed the knob and twisted it with a pull, lurching back along with the knob. It had completely come off the door and she threw the knob to the floor with a clank.

Raising her foot, she shoved it into the door and broke the rotten door apart. She grabbed the frame and tore it from its hinges, throwing it across the room. She shined the flashlight in the doorway, seeing the closet half full with old and dusty clothing. She rummaged through them and knitted her eyebrows when she noticed an oddly bright white gown. She shoved the rest of the clothes to the other side of the closet and slid the gown in the middle where she could see it better. She smiled to herself upon realizing what her eyes had set upon, "Of course… the wedding dress."

Rowan felt the collar of her jacket lurch, and with it, her entire body flew across the room. She grunted and leaned up, seeing Mrs. Jefferson's ghost standing in front of the broken closet as if she were defending her wedding dress. She tilted her head and snarled at Rowan as the red haired woman got to her feet. Rowan coughed and smiled, her icy eyes piercing the ghost,

"Bring it on you ugly whore!"

The ghost screamed with rage and lunged towards Rowan, grabbing her by the neck and slamming her into the wall behind her. Rowan coughed out and the ghost grabbed her arm and threw her across the room once again, this time, into a window.

Rowan fell face first to the dirty floor as glass erupted from the window and plunged onto her body. She felt the sharp incisions clutter her hands as she tried to protect her head the best she could. Her face flicked up when she heard a low growl sound from the throat of the ghost, seeing her on the approach once again, "You gotta do better than that!" Rowan groaned as she tried to stand to her feet, feeling the hard hands of the ghost grabbing onto her jacket once again. With all the ghosts' strength, she let out a blood curdling wail and hurled Rowan over the furniture into the weak wall. The wood faltered under Rowan's weight and she exploded into the other room with a loud thud, skidding across the floor and coming to a stop. She hissed through her lips and her mouth gaped open to try and suck air into her lungs, but the force she experienced knocked the wind out of her.

She heard creaking above her, seeing a large hole in the ceiling, and with the supportive wall now shattered, the ceiling above began to give way. Rowan growled and rolled over onto her stomach and tried to crawl out from under the large wooden ceiling. Her ears caught the sound of rupturing wood and she clenched her fists, narrowing her eyes, "Shit…"

The entire top floor of the room collapsed with a thunderous tone, dust and dirt spewing into a cloud all around the room.

"Hey you ugly bitch!" The ghosts head twisted towards the doorway only for her dead eyes to meet the barrels of Dean's handheld shotgun. He pulled the trigger and the gun recoiled in his hand, sending rock salt barreling into the chest of the apparition. She shattered into pieces and Dean looked over his shoulder, seeing his brother next to the closet,

"Sam!? What're you doing?"

"The wedding dress in here, it's got to be the thing she's attaching to!" Sam had already lit his lighter and held the flame under the sleeve of the dress. Slowly, the flame greedily clutched onto the silk clothing, taking it up with no hesitation. Upon hearing her reappear, the two boy's heads turned towards the corner of the room, seeing the screaming ghost being taken up in flames along with her dress.

Finally, she disappeared once again and this time it would surely be the last.

"Do you think that girls alright?" Sam began walking towards the wooden wreckage and Dean quickly followed,

"I don't know, but I guess we're gonna find out." Dean began to grab he large sharps of wood and toss them to the side, working fast before his fears were corrected. Sam jumped in and his ears picked up the sound of groaning, "I can hear her; she's definitely not dead yet." Finally, Dean tore away a large board and stopped, seeing her black jacket peeking out from under more wood, "Sam, grab her other arm."

The two large brothers grabbed her arms and hoisted her out of the debris. Dean wrapped one of her arms around his neck and slid his other hand around her waist, "Bring the Impala around."

"What're we gonna do with her?"

"Take her to back to Bobby's for now. We need to find out who the hell she is."

.:=:.

"So you ran into this chick at a bar where she proceeded to kick the ass of a biker, she saved your asses from a shape shifter at gunpoint, you guys meet up again at the Jefferson house and she helps you destroy the ghost, now you got her tied up in the chair? What's the deal?"

"We're just taking precautions, Bobby." Dean looked at Bobby and then back to an unconscious Rowan, her head draped over her legs and her hair hanging in her face. Bobby shook his head,

"What the hell are you gonna do with her when she wakes up?"

"We haven't gotten that far yet." Sam sighed and crossed his arms while leaning on a table. Dean turned to face his brother and surrogate father,

"What if she's a demon?"

"What if? We exorcise her and that's that. Send the host body on her way." Bobby shrugged his shoulders and Sam looked over at him,

"I don't think she's a demon. Not once has her eyes turned black or has she tried to kill us."

"That doesn't mean she's not something. She could be tailing us and keeping tabs."

"I don't know… think about it Dean. She hasn't even called us by our names or even asked for them." Dean stared over at Sam and rubbed his hand down his face, sighing to himself,

"Or maybe she's just a regular hunter you've never met before." Bobby shrugged his shoulders again as the two boys looked at him, then back to each other's questioning eyes.

"Hit the nail on the head with that one." They heard a soft voice grumble and their surprised faces looked over to see Rowan staring up at them. Dark circles rounded her eyes in fatigue and anguish, but she managed to compose herself and sat up straight, slapping a smirk on her face. The boys all approached her and stood next to each other, standing over her with less-than-happy faces,

"Tell us who you are." Dean leaned down with a dead serious face, putting his hands on the chair over each side of her shoulders,

"Why should I when I don't even know who you two are?" Dean looked over his shoulder at Sam, who rose his eyebrows, and then back to the girl with a small smile,

"Look, I'm starting to get sick of your sarcastic crap. You tell us who you are, what you are, and then we'll tell you who we are. And maybe if you're lucky, we'll let you off easy." Rowan leaned forward, almost touching noses with Dean, and her smile crept further across her cheeks,

"Bite me, pretty boy." Dean stood up straight and growled, shoving a chair out of his way while he made way back to Bobby. Rowan looked down, seeing red spray paint below her boots and she rolled her eyes, looking at Sam, while pointing her foot outside the circle,

"A devil's trap? Seriously? You couldn't have just dumped holy water on me?"

"Told you guys she's no demon." Rowan looked to Bobby, narrowing her eyes when she noticed something oddly familiar about him in his grizzly face. Tilting her head, her dark red hair tumbled to the side and her blue eyes flickered as a grin crossed her face again,

"Bobby? Is that really you?"

"Wait… how do you know Bobby?" Sam asked while looking back at him. Bobby's eyes were wide and they darted back and forth from Sam and Dean,

"Don't look at me; I don't think I've ever met her in my life!" Bobby looked back at Rowan, "How do you know my name?" Rowan stared at him with a bored expression and rolled her eyes,

"Roebuck?"

"Roebuck….?"

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked while looking to Bobby, who was staring down at the floor in deep thought. Dean walked back up to Rowan,

"What is Roebuck? Some secret term?"

"He's got it." Rowan smiled and nodded towards Bobby. Dean looked back to see Bobby staring at Rowan with shocked eyes,

"I don't believe it…"

"What Bobby?" Sam stood to his feet and stared at him while Dean began to get frustrated,

"Okay! What the hell is going on here!?" Bobby laughed to himself and crossed his arms,

"You're Kurt's kid, huh? Uh… Rowan Rogan? Man, I remember when you were just a little tike…"

"Rowan Rogan?" Sam didn't recognize the name and stared at Dean, who was equally confused,

"Rogan…. Rogan… where have I heard that name before?"

"Boys, you just caught yourself one of the toughest huntresses in the country." Dean and Sam stared at each other, both still confused on the situation. Dean smirked,

"Well then, if she's so tough how did Sam and I manage to catch her so easily?"

"Catch me, huh? Last I recall a ghost threw me through a wall and knocked me out. That doesn't necessarily count. Unfair game."

"But how do you know who she is if you've never met her?" Sam looked over at Bobby while Dean and Rowan were having a stingy staring contest. Bobby looked over at Sam,

"I knew her father, and so did your old man. They were acquaintances and hunted with each other once in a while. Kurt was one of the best hunters I've ever seen. I met Rowan here a few times when she was little and Kurt always called her the Roebuck, that's where I know the name."

"Then what's so tough about this Rowan chick?" Dean pointed at her with his thumb from over his shoulder as he turned towards Bobby, staring at him curiously,

"If Kurt trained her all I can say is she's dangerous."

"About as dangerous as Sammy…"

"Thanks Dean." Sam rolled his eyes and Dean only smirked,

"Ah, that feels a lot better." Dean and Sam's eyebrows furrowed when they heard a clank on the floor sliding towards them. Turning, Rowan was rubbing her wrists of the handcuff bruising on her skin. Sam looked down to see the handcuffs he had put on her were lying defeated on the floor in front of him. Dean stared at her, confused at what just happened and Bobby stood behind them snickering to himself.

"You didn't have to put the handcuffs on so tight. But I gotta say that's a new time for me."

"How did you…?" Sam stared at her and she only smiled,

"I picked the lock? Duh?"

"Those handcuffs are guaranteed lock pick proof."

"Any lock can be picked with experience. Nothing's impossible." Rowan smiled at Sam and walked up to them, resting her hands on her hips. Her blue eyes looked to Bobby,

"Now… is this any way to treat a lady? Where's the whiskey at?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Come on boys, let's go take a seat." Bobby led Rowan and the brothers into the small dining room, the table clattered with books and all kinds of weapons. He moved a stack of books on a chair for Rowan and she sat down, Dean and Sam sitting across the table from her and Bobby taking the head of the table. He had a brand new bottle of brown whiskey in his hand,

"So, Rowan, right?" She looked over at Sam and nodded as Bobby poured her half a glass of the dark liquor,

"My name's Sam and this is my brother Dean." She glanced over at Dean, who continued to stare at her in suspicion. She rose her glass to her lips and smirked,

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Now before you two start getting' at each other, let me have a few words with her and you can rip each other's throats out Bobby looked over at Rowan, noticing her whiskey glass was already empty. She only smiled and wiggled her glass, Bobby dipping the lip of the bottle over her glass and pouring her more,

"Sorry, this stuff is just my poison."

"Don't worry, I gotta whole cellar full of the best whiskey in the country."

"Oh? Can I live here with you?"

"'Fraid I don't have the room for a person of your caliber." Bobby sipped on his whiskey and Rowan rolled her eyes with a smile, taking a large swig of her alcohol,

"So how have you been kiddo? How longs it been… goin' on fifteen years?"

"Just about… last time I saw you was when I was like… ten years old."

"You're little sister was with you, wasn't she? Where's she at now?" Rowan's eyes dropped and she planted her whiskey glass on the table. Sighing, she looked up at Bobby,

"She's dead." Bobby's face smile dropped and his mouth draped open, letting out a loud sigh. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hand down his face,

"I'm sorry, Roe." Rowan laughed to herself and looked over at Bobby,

"I haven't been called that name in forever."

"How long she been gone for?" Rowan took another drink of her whiskey and sighed, tapping her fingers on the glass,

"About a year and a half now."

"What was her name?" Rowan looked over at Sam and she leaned back in her chair, dangling her arm from the back of the small wood rest,

"Ellena Rogan." Rowan glanced over at Dean, seeing a very disturbed and shocked expression muddling his face. His chiseled jawline tightened and she saw his hands gripping tightly around his alcohol glass. She narrowed her blue eyes,

"Hey pretty boy… you alright over there?" Dean looked over at her and he hesitated for a moment before speaking. His Adam's apple bobbed for a few moments,

"Dean?"

"Yeah I'm fine, the name just seems familiar like I slept with her a while back, and that's all." Dean smirked and Rowan stared daggers through him and his charmed smile faded. He took a breath and leaned back in his chair, "How'd she die…?" He asked hesitantly and both Sam's and Bobby's eyes found their way to Rowan's. She sighed and ran a hand through her dark red hair, her teeth beginning to gnaw on her bottom lip. She stared at the table to advert her eyes from their curious gazes,

"Hellhounds."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Bobby…" Dean looked over at Bobby, whose face began to grow agitated. Rowan only sighed and shook her head,

"Don't bother asking me what happened. I seriously don't want to talk about it."

"Didn't your daddy teach you any better?" Bobby's eyes narrowed at her and she looked back over at him with a slight smirk, tilting her head,

"He taught Ellena and I to protect each other." The table grew silent and Bobby only rubbed his forehead, his hat bouncing about on his head as his hand hit the bill. Rowan tilted her head back and drank the rest of her whiskey, slamming the glass down on the table and standing to her feet,

"Well boys, it's been fun! If you'll excuse me, I have some work I need to go get done."

"How exactly are you gonna do that?" Bobby asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk. Rowan's eyebrows knitted together and she smiled,

"I got my bike."

"What bike?" She looked down at Sam as he looked at her with confusion. Rowan looked out the window and then back at him,

"My transportation? My street bike. We're still in Colorado, or at least close, right?" She smiled and shook her head, staring down at the three men. They all glanced at each other and Bobby started snickering to himself, Dean and Sam glancing at each other with alarmed stares,

"You're in South Dakota chickey! They brought you here in the Impala!" Rowan's face dropped and she closed her eyes, letting out a sharp breath. She elevated her hand and gritted her teeth, trying to keep as calm as possible,

"You… you're telling me that I'm three states over… and my street bike with _all_ my hunting gear is still stuck back in Colorado…?"

"Well, I guess you could say that…" Sam smiled apologetically and Rowan put her hand on her forehead, her other hand on her hip, and walked over to the window, rubbing her temples,

"Oh… this isn't happening right now…"

"Look, we didn't see your motorcycle anywhere or I probably would've taken it for a test drive myself."

"If you would have laid one ass cheek on my bike I would have mutilated you." She turned around and pointed at him. She put her hand to her mouth again, searching for answers on the wooden floor. She looked back at Dean and walked up to him,

"You guys need to take me back to get it right now."

"Woah there sweet cheeks, you can't just expect us to take you on a twelve hour drive just to go get your motorcycle!"

"You're the ones who kidnapped me and left it there in the first place! The least you could do is take me back to get it!" Dean and Rowan began a stare-off and Sam walked up to intercept it before it turned into an argument. He looked at Dean,

"Come on Dean… if someone kidnapped you and left the Impala, you'd hold them at gunpoint just to make them take you back to get it." Dean looked around Sam, seeing Rowan with her arms crossed and pouting with annoyance. Her blue eyes flickered and her face softened,

"Please… it has everything I own in it." Dean grunted and sighed, looking up at Sam,

"Get your stuff and we'll start out." Rowan smirked and walked towards Dean, patting him on the shoulder,

"Thanks Deena."

**.:=:.**

Rowan leaned over the engine of the black Impala that was parked outside the house. Its beautiful black paint job clashed with the rusty bodies of its fellow vehicle counterparts all around it. Her blue eyes scanned over the large engine, trying to determine what exactly purred under the hood of the car. The car rustled about as Sam was readying the trunk for the drive, tossing bags and weapons for their adventures.

"Man… you sure are a lot prettier of a car than my mom's old thing."

"Hey! What're you doing!?" She looked over her shoulder, seeing Dean's pace quicken at the sight of a stranger handling his baby. He dropped his bag by his feet once he stopped at the front of his car, looking at Rowan as if she were crazy, "What the hell are you doing to my car?"

"I'm just takin a look at the engine there Sparky, no need to get all wired over it."

"For all I know you could be sabotaging my sweetheart."

"Now why the hell would I want to do that to something as beautiful as this?" Dean smirked as if he, himself, were complimented by her. He nodded towards her,

"You think my car is beautiful?"

"When it's got a three twenty-seven engine in it I can't deny it." Dean pulled the support rod down and shut the hood of the car,

"You know cars, huh?"

"A bit here and there. I know mostly motorcycles though."

"Hm, you actually might have more than to you than your looks." Dean winked and Rowan rolled her eyes, turning to see Sam walking up to them,

"Trunks packed up."

"Ain't leavin without a goodbye." Bobby walked up and the three looked over at him as he stopped. He shoved a clip into a pistol and handed it to Rowan. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, taking the gun in her hands,

"I was lookin it over while you were knocked out. That's a beautiful gun you got there."

"It was dads and the first gun I ever shot. I guess you could say it's sentimental." She shoved it in the back of her pant line and covered it with her shirt and jacket. She smiled at Bobby and stuck her hand out for a friendly shake, "Thanks Bobby," Bobby grabbed her hand and yanked her towards him into a hug. It only last a few seconds and he pulled apart, leaving Rowan surprised,

"If you wanted a hug you could've just asked for it."

"Well excuse me for not gettin all fluffy-bunny in front of my boys here. Anyways, here's my number. Call me if you need anything." Rowan smiled and took the paper, nodding as she stared down at the blue numbers that invaded the dirty paper,

"Alright boys! It's been fun. Guess I'll see you two around."

"Of course Bobby." Sam smiled and Bobby pulled them both into a quick hug before they left off.

Rowan's hands rested behind her head as she stared up at the black lining of the Impala's ceiling. The warm breeze of the upcoming Wyoming air blew through the cab of the car, the purring engine holding steady as Dean drove it down the desolate highway. Rowan's leg bounced about on her knee as she chewed on her lip, her eyes closed in deep thought.

"Hey Rowan, does your head hurt at all?"

"What do you mean?" She opened an eye and looked to the back of Sam's head. He glanced back at her before returning his eyes to the road that Dean drove,

"Well you were groaning a lot after that ghost threw you through the wall and I'm pretty sure I saw a cut on your head. I just wanna make sure we don't drop you off with any serious injuries."

"Oh, don't worry about me Timber-Terror, I feel just fine." Rowan heard Dean snicker under his breath and Sam looked over at him,

"Hey, I like that one… "Timber-Terror", we should add that to the list!"

"No, we shouldn't." Sam groaned and shook his head. Dean rested his hand at the top of the car's steering wheel and leaned back to relax,

"So Rowan… how the hell do you keep all your supplies in a crotch rocket? Saddle bags or somethin?"

"Yeah I've been thinking about that, too. I've never heard of any hunter using a motorcycle for travel before." Rowan smirked to herself and opened her eyes, continuing to bounce her rested leg on her knee. She leaned her head over to look at the back of their heads, her bangs floating about her face,

"Well, how exactly do you guys carry your gear?"

"My dad hollowed out the trunk."

"Same."

"But bikes don't have a trunk…?" Sam looked over his shoulder at her and she leaned up, leaning against the soft, black seat,

"I hollowed out the seat, braniac."

"Hollowed out the seat? But the seats aren't that big how can you fit all your stuff in there?" Dean's eyebrows knitted as he stared at the road, trying to put together the pieces she was giving him. Rowan smiled,

"I only have the necessities. I also have a buttload of storage units all over the country if I absolutely need anything I just go there."

"Hm, I never really thought about it that way." Sam tilted his head while thinking about the idea. Rowan crossed her arms while leaning on the seat in front of her, resting her chin on her hands,

"Where you guys headin after you drop me off?"

"We don't know yet. We don't really have a case to work out." Rowan deliberated silently for a few moments before speaking,

"I already have a case."

"What?" Sam looked over his shoulder at her,

"Do you plan ahead or something?"

"Usually. I do a mission one after another and I don't like to sit around waiting for something to cross my nose. So after one case is done I move right onto another."

"Just like that? One after another? You don't take breaks?" Rowan looked out the window, seeing the sun setting about the mountains in the distance,

"Whatever keeps me busy and working, I guess."

"Well… what're you working on?" Rowan reached into her jacket and rummaged around in a secret pocket. She yanked out a few papers all folded together, handing them to Sam,

"Heading out to Pettigrew, Arkansas just outside the Ozark National Forest." Dean glanced over at the papers as Sam opened them, his eyes scanning over the headlines quickly,

"Eight men mutilated over the course of four days?"

"They always say animal attacks…" Rowan shook her head and looked at the papers in Sam's hands. He studied them more in depth,

"Wow… those are some brutal murders. All the organs ripped out?"

"Yeap. Their eyes were gouged out too. They're saying a "hostile bear" is on the loose."

"But you think different." Dean kept his eyes on the road,

"Worth checking out." Sam looked over at Dean and then back at Rowan,

"What do you say, Dean?"

"About what?" He sighed while looking over at Sam. Sam shrugged his shoulder,

"About helping Rowan out with this one? It sounds pretty hectic."

"You mean work together? As in team?"

"I don't mind. Haven't worked with other hunters since my sister was alive. I just want to get this case over with, working on it by myself will take forever." Rowan's voice was bored, tired, and uninterested, her eyes heavy with fatigue,

"Come on, Dean, just until we get another case lined up."

"I don't know, Sammy. We just met this chick and now you wanna be all buddy-buddy with her?" Sam sighed and Dean continued to look back and forth from him to the road,

"Come on, Dean… I barely bite…" Rowan mumbled towards him with a small smirk and Dean glanced back at her, rolling his eyes and shaking his head,

"Seriously, we don't have anything else to do. Searching for cases takes forever for me and you know it. Besides, this sounds pretty interesting." Sam looked back at the papers in his hands and Dean sighed, tapping his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel,

"Fine, we'll do it."


	4. Chapter 4

_Breckinridge, Colorado_

Rowan stepped out of the Impala, feeling the cold air of the early morning air brush against her skin. The sun was just beginning to wake up and warm the day, its beautiful orange horizon burning behind the mountains in the distance. Her boots sank in the damp dirt road below her feet as she trudged onto where she remembered leaving her motorcycle.

Her legs stopped working and her mouth dropped when she saw the ghostly remains of what she hoped didn't happen. Her fingers clawed in her hair and she rushed forward, tearing the bushes away from whatever was left of her bike. Parts were strung out everywhere and the frame had missing pieces essential for it to run.

The engine was nowhere to be seen.

The seat had been cracked open and she rummaged around, trying to find any hunting gear that had been left behind.

But there was nothing.

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked while walking up, seeing the devastation. Rowan sighed and ran her hand down her face, her hand stopping at her mouth,

"A bunch of kids must have stopped by. They completely chopped it apart and took almost everything."

"What about your weapons?" Sam looked into the seat and Rowan only shook her head in defeat,

"Nothing. All my guns are gone, my fake ID's, my clothes…. _everything_…" Sam and Dean exchanged glances and Rowan turned to them, her face less than happy. But she contained herself from strangling them both, "Well, looks like I'm sticking with you two for a while."

"Wait, what?" Dean looked down at her with an eyebrow raised like she was crazy. Rowan only smirked,

"It's your fault this happened."

"You're the one who got knocked out getting thrown through the wall! If you would've just let us handle it-!"

"Listen here you walking STD!" Rowan latched onto the collar of Dean's jacket and yanked him towards her. Sam grabbed her shoulder and Dean, his chest, pushing them apart,

"Come on guys, we don't have time for this." Rowan's greedy hands let Dean go and she stepped back, their two pairs of blue eyes staring daggers into each other. Sam sighed and sunk his hands into his jacket pockets, "We're gonna have to figure something out here." He stared at Dean with raised eyebrows, looking thoughtfully at his brother. Rowan turned and stared at the broken mess of her beloved motorcycle, her eyes scanning the area for anything worth picking up. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted something in the bushes and walked off into the shrubbery, leaving the boys to stare at one another.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Dean, this is partly our fault." Dean sighed and rubbed his head while staring at the bike in shambles, "And we are going in the same direction anyhow. I don't see what the shame would be bringing her along with us."

"But she's a stranger. How do you know we can trust her?"

"We haven't really given her a chance to prove herself. You won't give her one." Sam shrugged and Dean looked at him with hard eyes,

"Don't put the blame on me."

"I'm not but… we could use the help right now and we can't just leave her here and expect her to meet us in Arkansas. It's her case, not ours." Dean growled and rolled his eyes, mild guilt flooding into his torso. Sam pursued Dean's interests, "And who knows? If we befriend her she could be a liable asset to our call list. Bobby did nothing but praise her or doubt her abilities."

"Yeah, I guess." They heard crunching footsteps and saw her step from the bushes while holding a dirty bag in her hands. The boys turned as she approached, hearing her sigh,

"Well, they didn't take everything."

"What is that?" Dean asked as he nodded towards her backpack. She lifted it up and looked at it,

"My backpack. They rummaged through it but all I had were my FBI uniform and some others clothes. The only ID they didn't find was my fake badge because it was in my jacket pocket." She smiled slightly and shrugged a shoulder. Dean nodded and sighed,

"Well then… we're willing to take you along with us to Arkansas to do this case. But we have our own stuff to do-"

"So you don't want me tagging along too long, you don't trust me enough blah blah blah I get it." She waved her hand lazily in the air and rolled her eyes, glancing over at whatever was left of her partner-on-wheels, "I can't just leave this here, it's fixable." She sighed and put her hands on her hips. Sam stared at it,

"Well, we can always call Bobby and see if he can pick it up. After this case you can head back to his place and try to clean it up." Rowan twiddled her lips and nodded,

"Alright, that sounds like a plan."

**.:=:.**

_Pettigrew, Arkansas_

The trio rolled into a motel parking lot, it being somewhat nicer than the last one they stayed at. It actually had a pool and a small room for breakfast. They had been driving all day and finally arrived at the small town; the sun already eaten by the darkness of night. They finally stepped out of the vehicle after hours upon hours of driving, stretching their aching bodies.

"Oh man, this is why I don't drive a car!" As Rowan stretched her back, they heard her vertebrae pop like bubble wrap. She sighed in relief and looked to Dean,

"You have money for a room tonight?"

"I should have a little left from my pool game a few nights ago." She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think about how much money she should have in her wallet.

"Alright, we should probably get to sleep so we get a head start on the day tomorrow. We've got a lot of investigating to do to catch up with the murders."

"Aye, aye el Capitan." She grabbed her backpack from the truck as Sam opened it. Reaching into her back pocket, she yanked out her wallet while she and Dean walked into the motel, each paying the receptionist for their own rooms.

Rowan threw her backpack on the bed, jumping face first into the mattress and sighing in bliss. Her back hurt from the strenuous ride in the back of the car and her nerves throbbed in her spinal cord. Her eyes slowly opened as she fumbled with her backpack with a foot, finally getting the strap around it as she pulled it up towards her. Her arm lazily latched onto the backpack as she set it on the floor beside her, unzipping it with one hand and rummaging around through it.

Once her fingers felt the soft, worn out leather of her father's field book, she pulled it out and stared at the old book. She relayed the article she read earlier in her mind while opening the book, flipping through pages and skimming through the summaries of many monsters her father had encountered.

Missing organs, especially the heart, with the eyes gouged out. She was having a hard time figuring out what it could be.

"My, my… finding some new friends now, aren't we?" Her eyes widened as she heard the familiar voice, looking up from the light brown pages of her book. Her eyes drew narrow annoyingly and she scoffed as the angel she stared at sat smugly in a chair,

"What the hell do you want?"

"Now, that's no way to speak to your superior." Uriel stood to his feet and walked over towards her as she lied on the bed. Rowan rolled her eyes and shook her head while continuing to read the page she was on,

"What? No smart ass remark?"

"I don't have to listen to you. Castiel is who I follow under, not you. So why don't you take your conceited little angel ass and get out of here."

"Oh, the cat has claws." He laughed to himself and Rowan's eyes looked to his. Uriel bothered her to no end and he was the last person she wanted to see at the end of the day,

"Why are you here?"

"Those boys you're with… the Winchesters, you'd be wise to stay away from them. They're not to be trusted." Rowan smirked and tilted her head,

"Is that so?" Uriel only stared at her, narrowing his eyes,

"They're nothing but trouble. I'm telling you right now that you will regret crossing their paths." His matter-of-fact tone made Rowan scoff, but she held her smirk. Slamming her book shut and standing to her feet,

"I'll be the judge of that. Is that all you wasted your energy on? Coming here and telling me nothing but useless crap like that?"

"Watch your tone you little insect."

"Or what? Are you going to smite me?" Uriel latched his large fingers around her neck and growled in his throat,

"It would just be so easy to snap your thin little neck…"

"Unhand her, Uriel." Uriel didn't bother to look at who appeared in the middle of the room, only stared into the icy blue eyes of the woman he wanted so badly to destroy. Rowan stared with a smug smirk as he hesitantly let her neck go and looked over to Castiel, who stood next to his human comrade,

"I warned you about putting your hands on her."

"You have quite the annoying pet Castiel; you couldn't have chosen someone more useful?"

"It is not my will, and you know that…" Castiel looked to Rowan and then back to Uriel, who had already disappeared. The sound of beating wings faded from the room and Rowan heard Castiel sigh,

"What?" She asked and he walked past her,

"You know aggravating Uriel only will make him angry."

"It's all in good fun. If he didn't have a stick up his ass all the time he'd be a pretty alright guy." Rowan snickered to herself and Castiel turned to face her, his face confused,

"Why would anyone want to place a cleaning item in such an unwelcomed orifice?" Rowan sighed and rolled her eyes, turning around and moving the book off her bed,

"So, what did Uriel _really_ come to talk to me about?"

"He wasn't supposed to say anything, and neither is the time now to speak of it. I will return when the time calls for it."

"But Cas-" She blinked and once her eyes opened again Castiel was gone. She growled and clenched her fists, shaking her head,

"How come the angels have to be assholes too? Isn't the world filled with enough of those!?"

**.:=:.**

Rowan, Dean, and Sam walked into the morgue of the crime unit, all three of them clad in their FBI uniforms. A lower office weaved them through the hallways like a spider, unlocking a door with his card.

"Afternoon doctor." Rowan lead Dean and Sam into the room while flipping open her fake ID badge, flashing it to the doctor. The doctor nodded in acknowledgement and shut a folder that he was staring at,

"I'm Captain Jagger. These are my officers Miller and Tucker." She pointed over her shoulder and Sam and Dean looked at each other questioningly before flashing their own badges."

"FBI? Wasn't expecting you guys to show up. What are you here for?"

"The brutal murders that have been happening over the course of the month. All the people getting their organs and eyes gouged out?" Dean walked forward and stopped next to Rowan, Sam not far behind him,

"Oh those bear attack victims… why would the FBI want anything to do with them."

"We have firm reason to believe that they're not bear attacks." Rowan stared at the man with her blue eyes, his stare turning to Sam's as he spoke,

"We'd like to see the reports and the most recent body, if you don't mind."

"Oh uh… of course," He walked over to the wall of refrigerated caskets and scanned over the labels on the wall. Once finding the most recent attack victim, he unlocked the door and pulled out the gurney. Turning, his mouth drew into a thin line as he stared at the three undercover hunters,

"Excuse me while I go find the files. You're welcome to start looking under the body." He pushed past them and Rowan was already on it, yanking out some rubber gloves and pulling them on. She smirked at them, snapping the rubber glove on her hand,

"Prepare yourselves."

"Is that supposed to be sexual?"

"It can be if you want it to." She winked and turned around, peeling the white sheet off the morbidly destroyed carcass. The brothers each grabbed themselves a pair of rubber gloves, following her lead. "Man, he sure was an unlucky one." Rowan scrunched her nose, seeing the mashed flesh and bones of the ribcage split open. The poor victim's skin was ghostly white with large claw marks that plagued his flesh. His eye sockets were ripped apart gruesomely strips of flesh dangling out of them. Rowan tilted her head while staring at the wounds, her eyes narrowing as she scanned them for indications,

"This is probably one of the harsher cases I've seen." Sam grunted while handling the eye sockets. He stuck his fingers in them and probed their innards,

"What kind of claw marks are these?" Dean rubbed his hand across the claw marks, "They're pretty friggen deep."

"It could be a lot of things." Rowan said while pulling her hand out of the chest cavity after rummaging around in it. She scoffed, "The only organs left in there are the intestines; I think the appendix, and lungs too."

"Everything else is missing?" Sam asked while looking at her, pulling his fingers from the eye sockets. Rowan sighed and continued to stare at the claw marks,

"All the good stuff all the monsters like."

"Hey, look at this." Sam and Rowan looked to Dean as he studied the thigh of the victim. His eyebrows were drawn together and he pulled the blanket up,

"Hand me some of those tongs." Sam turned around and pulled a pair of long, thin tongs off the medical table, handing them to his brother. Rowan walked around the gurney next to Dean,

"What'd you find?"

"Surprised the coroner didn't find it." Dean stuck the tongs into a bite mark and pressed the two pieces of metal together, slowly pulling out a small object. Rowan and Sam's eyebrows narrowed in confusion while Dean brought it up to eye level,

"What the hell?"

"Let me see that." Rowan pulled the little object from in between the metal bars, holding it in her hand. She grabbed a paper towel and wiped it off,

"I think it's a… tooth."

"A tooth? What kind of tooth?" Rowan dropped it in Sam's hand and he studied the pale yellow fang. Rowan shook her head and sighed,

"I don't know, but other than the claw marks, it's the only lead we got."

"Here are those files you asked for." The three impersonators looked over the shoulders to see the doctor approaching with many fat files in his hands. Sam quickly hid the tooth in his pocket before the doctor noticed and turned to him,

"Uhh, you wouldn't mind if we borrowed these for as long as we need them, would you?" The doctor stared at Sam for a few minutes before nodding and handing them to him,

"For the time being. Is there a number I can reach you on if I'll need them back?"

"Yes, of course." Dean opened the flap of his coat and rummaged around for his fake contact card. Handing it to the coroner, the doctor examined it with a couple glances of his brown eyes before nodding and smiling,

"Thank you detectives, captain."

"You have a nice day now." Rowan patted his shoulder as she walked past him, Sam and Dean peeling off their bloody rubber gloves before pursuing after the red haired woman.

**.:=:.**

"The latest victims name is Joshua Durden. He lived over in one of those snooty house complexes on the other side of town, as well as the other three victims. The complex sits right on the edge of the national forest."

"Well, at least we have one connection." Rowan replied to the taller brother while pulling her uniform jacket off and throwing it on Dean's bed. She sat down across from Sam and opened the second most recent file, reading the woman's information from top to bottom.

"Well then, what the hell about this tooth?" Dean sat down in the last chair and stared at the long yellow fang curiously. Rowan glanced over at it and then reached across the table, grabbing her father's book she brought along with her. She peeled open the old pages,

"I remember seeing something similar to that in here somewhere…" She said more to herself than the boys. Finally finding the page she was looking for, she spun it around and slid its old leather across the fake wooden table towards Dean. "Match it up with these ones on this page." Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise at the many drawn in teeth on the page. He tilted his head and looked at Rowan, who returned her attention towards the coroner file in her hand,

"Where the hell did you get this book?" He glanced back down, quickly flipping through a few more pages before returning to the page of teeth. Rowan smirked as her eyes scanned the numerous pages of the file,

"My dad wrote it. Been writing it since he was like… twelve." Before Dean could reply back to her, Sam cut him off while revealing a key detail of a police report,

"Hey guys, it says here that Joshua's wife called a cable company the morning of the murder. But the police never even heard of the cable company before… I checked the other file and it said the same thing." Rowan quickly flipped to the police report reading the summary and raising her eyebrows when she saw the same detail in her file,

"Same here. Only the cable guy showed up two mornings before the murder."

"So a fake cable guy running around town lining up people to kill? Or eat?" Dean slammed the book shut and sighed to himself,

"Find anything?" Sam asked and Dean's tinted blue-green eyes looked over to him,

"I've narrowed it down to a Djinn, Werewolf, and Rugaru."

"I hate Djinn…." Rowan groaned and rubbed her temples. Sam looked up from his file and stared at her,

"You've come across one before?"

"Yeah, one friggen captured me and my sister ended up finding me and killing it. I was surprised she managed to take it out by herself." Dean smirked and nodded,

"That makes two of us." Rowan stood to her feet and stretched, sighing and walking towards the door. She turned back to them, her hands on her hips,

"Well, I'm gonna head out and try to get some info out of the widow… try to find out what this cable guy looks like, maybe get a license plate number."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Dean questioned as she yanked her jacket off his bed and slid it on her torso. With a sly smirk, she slowly lifted up his key ring and opened their motel door. Dean's eyes widened and jumped up, "Ah, ah, ah! I don't even think so!" He shook his head and Rowan pouted,

"Why not? I'll take good care of it…"

"He doesn't even let _me_ drive the Impala. I'm surprised you didn't lose your hand just now." Sam raised an eyebrow at her while turning around in his face. She watched Dean's jaw clench as he held out his hand motioning his fingers for her to hand over his precious keys. Rowan rolled her eyes and slapped them in his hand,

"We'll just all go."

"You guys go ahead, I'll stay here." Dean turned halfway towards his brother, raising his eyebrows,

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you and Rowan go talk to the widow and try to get some info out of her. I'm gonna stay here and keep researching. I'll call Bobby and see what he can contribute. I want to try and narrow down what the hell this thing is."

"Sounds good to me." Rowan walked out the door and Dean pursued after her. They climbed into the Impala and Dean started the purring engine, driving off down the road. The two hunters finally arrived at the widow's house, walking up the steps and knocking on the door. Flashing their badges quickly, the woman granted them entry into her house and led them into the living room.

Alas, the interview was cut short when the police showed up at her house for more questioning.

"Well, that was sort of a bust." Rowan sighed to herself while she and Dean walked down the steps of the house. Dean looked over to her while wriggling his car keys from his pocket,

"At least we found out what the faulty cable companies name is. It'll give us some sort of lead." Rowan sat down in the passenger's seat and Dean pulled off the side of the street, rolling slowly down the road. Rowan stared questioningly out the window, "Who the hell name's their cable company Mcjunkin Your Cable?"

"I don't know, I think that's kind of clever."

"Of course you do." Rowan shook her head as she heard him snickering to himself. She narrowed her eyes while staring out the window, seeing the sea of green trees passing them by.

"So, where are you from anyways?" Rowan looked over at him but he kept his eyes on the road. She smiled and leaned back in the seat, resting her head on her fist,

"Polson, Montana…"

"Really? I don't think I've been to Polson."

"It's a pretty nice place." Dean turned his black chariot down another street,

"Got anyone special there?" Rowan glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, her icy irises flickering,

"I'm a hunter, why would you think I had anyone special waiting for me back home?" Dean shrugged his shoulders and wrinkled his lips,

"I don't know, I guess we're all different. Just curious is all…"

"Wondering whether or not you can get in my pants?" She watched Dean smirked and laugh to himself while glancing over at her briefly, then back to the road,

"If I told you, you had a hot body, would you hold it against me?" Rowan scoffed and laughed in her throat, focusing her eyes on the scenery that folded onto the windshield,

"You are such a lady killer."

There was a brief moment of silence while Dean stewed up another pick up line in his head. He smiled to himself once again and glanced over at her,

"Are you sure you're not a dude?" Rowan narrowed her eyes and her eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. Her lips drew up in the corner of her mouth,

"I have an inney, not an outey."

"Well I'd like to put my outey in your inney." Rowan scoffed a stiff laugh and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. She heard Dean snickering to himself in the driver's seat and she let out a sigh,

"Well, I'll give you props… I've never heard that one before."

"So whaddya say? Dinner? Some champagne? Maybe bump some uglies afterwards?"

"That's not good…" Dean knitted his eyebrows and looked over at her as she stared out the window. He nodded his head sideways,

"Skip the foreplay?"

"Does that look familiar to you?" Rowan pointed out the windshield while looking over at Dean. He followed her pointing finger and his lips parted in curiosity, his foot letting off the gas pedal of the Impala and slowed,

"I think we found our cable guy…" He pulled over quickly before getting too close to the large, white van parked outside a house. Rowan leaned forward in the seat once seeing the faulty cable guy walking back towards his vehicle, a clipboard occupying his hand.

"Let's go have a chat with him." Dean popped his door open and Rowan quickly snatched his arm,

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

"If we talk to him we could scare him off… let's follow him back to wherever he goes and then tonight, me, you, and Sam can surprise him. He might be the monster we're looking for." Dean looked back at the cable guy as he started his van and slowly began to drive off. He looked back to Rowan and shut his door, swallowing a hesitant lump down his throat,

"You sure about this?"

"So far, I've never been wrong."

**.:=:.**

Dusk descended upon the three hunters as they trekked in through the woods, the Impala grumbling in discontent as they slowly rolled down the cold dirt road. Dean parked about a mile from the house so they could carefully sneak up on their prey; the brothers popping open the front doors and stepping out into the damp air. Rowan met them at the trunk, Dean popping it open, and the three gathering their weapons carefully.

Rowan slammed a clip full of silver bullets into her pistol, stuffing it in the pocket of her jacket. She clipped the sheath of her knife on her belt and stepped back, staring at the larger brothers as they readied their weapons,

"You guys ready?"

"As we'll ever be." Sam looked over his shoulder while stuffing his pistol in the back of his waistband. Dean shut the trunk of his car and looked to the two standing next to him,

"We should split up around the house. Lesser chance that he'll escape."

"Are you still sure he's the guy?" Sam looked to Dean and then Dean looked to Rowan. He nodded,

"We're running on her sheer instinct."

"I'm telling you guys, it's him."

"Yeah, well let's go." Dean turned and began to walk down the dirt road towards the house. Sam exchanged a quick glance with Rowan before pursing after his brother and she sighed to herself, rolling her eyes before following after them.

Darkness was beginning to consume the light of the sun as it slowly sank behind the mountains of the forested horizon. The three neared the house and Dean and Sam went their separate ways, leaving Rowan with the front door. It was a small cabin out in the middle of the national forest with the fake cable van parked outside. The lights were on, but the curtains were closed, and she could see the white light of a television in the window.

Slowly, she pulled her knife from the sheath and walked up the old wooden steps of the cabin. Her feet treaded lightly and the creaking of the stairs was barely audible. She took a deep breath and gripped the large, silver knife tightly in her hand, stopping in front of the door with her hand on the rusty handle. She heard footsteps clambering across the floor inside and gritted her teeth, stepping back, and shoving her foot into the decaying door.

It slammed open and broke partly off the hinges, Rowan stepping inside and smiling while staring at the blonde haired, black eyed man. She tilted her head and laughed mentally at the shocked expression the washed across his scruffy face,

"Hello again Roscoe." His eyes narrowed and his hands lowered to his side, anger and frustration overtaking his demeanor. He growled and bared his teeth at her,

"Rogan…"

"Didn't think you'd escape me that easily, did you?"

"Been waiting for you to catch up, whore." Rowan lashed out towards him and kicked a chair across the floor, hitting him in the gut. He double over but took little time to recover as his claws gripped the chair and threw it into the wall, smashing it to pieces. She went to stab him in his heart but he grabbed her wrist, twisting it around her back and throwing her into the wall. He ran up behind her for an easy kill but she threw her arm out, slicing into the flesh of his arm. He let out a cry and Rowan shoved her foot into his chest, knocking him backwards and over the couch. She rubbed her wrist as she walked over towards the downed werewolf, "Is that all you got?"

She stopped upon hearing his voice, seeing him move fast across the room and grabbing onto a dresser. He grabbed the sides and hurled it at her with all his might, Rowan ducking down quickly to avoid being hit by the heavy furniture. A sharp pain went through her chest as he booted her in the ribs, sending her crashing into the window. The glass obliterated into hundreds of pieces and crashed around her as she lied groaning on the ground. Roscoe towered over her with a wolfy grin, "I bet your heart's going to taste amazing…" Rowan flinched from a sudden gunshot and looked up to see Sam and Dean had finally made their appearance. Roscoe howled out in pain and gripped his shoulder, his eyes striking the brothers with an lustful gaze, "You brought me friends!?"

He lunged towards Dean and knocked the gun from his hand, shoving him into Sam and knocking them to the floor. Rowan jumped up quickly, ignoring the fleshly bleeding cuts on her head and back, and ran towards Roscoe, wrapping her arm around his neck into a chokehold. She gritted her teeth and squeezed tightly, but he shoved his elbow into her ribs, knocking the breath out of her. He shoved her to the floor as well and ran to an iron door, latching onto the handle and staring at the three hunters with a cocky grin, "I hope you three can run fast…" He ripped open the door and four ravenous individuals jumped out, snarling and hissing as they stepped across the ground. Rowan, Dean, and Sam froze once they stood to their feet, staring the monsters in the face.

"Meet my pack." He laughed and Dean slowly began to back up,

"I think we should run…"

"Good idea!" Rowan wheeled around on her heel and the two brothers weren't far behind her as they burst off the back porch into the trees. Hearing loud snarling behind them, the three pumped their legs faster into the depleting light of the dusky night. Trees flew past their vision and a flooding river wallowed through their ears as they skidded to a stop,

"We can't keep running that won't get us anywhere." Sam said and the three quickly formatted in a triangle, their backs to each other and pistols and knives gripped tightly in the palms of their hands. Growling and rustling of bushes surrounded them and their eyes darted back and forth, trying to grasp onto the monsters that were hunting them,

"What're we dealing with?"

"Definitely werewolves." Rowan replied to Dean, feeling her shoulders press into the backs of her comrades. Her muscles froze when she heard the deathly silence and her eyebrows knitted together,

"Why'd it get so quite all of a sudden?" Dean said under his breath, his eyes darting back and forth from the trees and bushes, waiting for something to pop out of the darkness. Sam panted and Rowan swallowed a hard lump that bounced about in her throat, focusing her hearing on the forest around her. The deadly silence staled in the air and not even a bird or bug made a sound around them.

"Maybe they're gone?" Sam whispered and Rowan shook her head,

"There's no way…" Not a second after Rowan's words hit the air one of the werewolves burst from the trees with a loud roar, tackling Dean to the ground. Another came from the trees and lashed out towards Rowan, grabbing her arm and throwing her towards the rest of the dogs waiting in the dark abyss. Sam reacted fast before the werewolf could get to him, raising his pistol and yanking the trigger quickly.

The werewolf cried out with pain as she was struck with three silver bullets and fell to the ground violently. Sam took his victory lightly and let his guard down, enabling yet another werewolf to attack him cleanly. A large male came tearing from the top of the trees, slamming into Sam and tackling him in the raging river. Rowan gasped out and jumped to her feet,

"Sammy!" Dean's frantic voice echoed in her ears and she heard a ballet of bullets being fired into the chest of the werewolf attempting to attack him. He took no time to jump to his feet and pursue after Rowan as she ran down the side of the river.

Her eyes locked onto Sam as he struggled to stay above the rapids, his mouth open and gasping for air every chance he had. Rowan jumped up and over rocks, running as fast as she could to keep up with Sam as his speed was accelerating with every dip of the torrents. She heard a too familiar sound and looked in front of her, seeing a small cliff edge growing closer and closer. She gritted her teeth as she heard Dean shouting for his younger brother behind her, readying her legs once approaching the awaiting waterfall.

While taking a deep breath, Rowan shoved off the edge of the rock and into the air, closing her eyes and waiting for the raging waters below.

"Sam!? Rowan!?" Dean stood on the edge of the rock, staring into the waters rapids and trying to grasp onto the familiar faces of his comrades. He flinched when he heard a large growl and turned around, seeing two figures stepping towards him.

Rowan burst from the river and struggled to stay afloat with Sam's head cradled against her. She swashed her arm back and forth for leverage, the river calming in the area she floated. Gritting her teeth, she kicked her legs and pumped her arm, clawing onto the muddy banks of the overflowed waterway. She heard Sam coughing and choking as she climbed onto bank, pulling him by his jacket and sliding him onto land.

"Sam!?" She smacked his cheek lightly and his chest heaved up as he coughed violently. Groaning and tossing his head back and forth, his eyes popped open and he stared at Rowan hovering over him,

"You okay?" Sam went to lean up but flinched and hissed in pain, clutching his arm tightly. He growled and his face twisted in pain,

"My arm…"

"Just stay still for a minute I'll-" Her arm froze upon reaching for his face and she glanced over her shoulder, hearing a low howl emanating in the cold night. Rowan's bones chilled and she looked back to Sam, grabbing his good arm and helping him to his feet.

"They're coming…"

"Where's Dean?"

"I don't know, I jumped in after you. He's probably looking for you right now." Sam looked to Rowan and the two quickly began to jog through the dark trees, diving over dead logs and large rocks as they moved down the riverside. Sam grunted in pain once again,

"Where are we going?"

"We have to try and find Dean. Taking on all these werewolves by ourselves is impossi-" The two stopped dead in their tracks when a werewolf jumped from the trees, erupting the muddy ground below them on impact. His white teeth bared through the darkness and a low growl erupted from his throat as he stepped towards them, crouching down in an animalistic manner. Rowan and Sam turned and went to run in the other direction, but they were only met by another werewolf, this time, it was Roscoe.

"Where do you think you two are going?" Rowan and Sam stood still and she pushed Sam behind her, facing Roscoe while Sam yanked his knife from his jacket and faced the smaller werewolf. Rowan slid her knife from its sheath and gripped it tightly in her hands as they began to shake,

"Someone scared?" He laughed while walking towards her. She backed up until her back met with Sam's, holding her breath and he stopped,

"Why are you building a pack?"

"Gotta do what I can to compete with the dogs." He snickered to himself and stopped in his tracks,

"I'm going to eat your little friend here, and as for you, you'll make a nice addition."

"Try me…" She challenged and Roscoe growled, lunging at the small woman. Sam bounced off her back and jumped at the pack wolf, shoving his monstrous foot into his chest.

Rowan dodged to the side as the Roscoe lurched after her and kneed him in the gut, grabbing him by the hair and slamming her fist into his cheek. He recoiled for a moment but his hand then latched onto her neck, throwing her against the tree. She felt a crack in her spine and gasped, struggling to get to her feet. Roscoe shoved his foot into her stomach but Rowan grabbed onto his leg and yanked him towards her. With all her might, she shoved her fist into his cheek once again and rammed her knee into his forehead, dropping him to the ground.

Rowan heard Sam cry out and turned to see the werewolf on top of him, snapping his jaws lustfully at the large man. Rowan acted fast and sprinted towards him, but felt a hand on her shoulder as she was yanked back and thrown through the air. She slid across the muddy ground and felt a heavy weight on top of her, looking up and seeing Roscoe sitting on top of her.

She felt an immense pain in her thigh and she cried out, feeling it coursing up her body and into her neck. She smelt blood waft in the air as back and forth, Roscoe's claws thrashed in and out of her flesh ravenously. She gritted her teeth and did her best to ignore the pain, Roscoe laughing loudly as he blood spattered all over his and her face. Rowan realized her knife had been knocked from her hand, and reaching into her coat pocket was downright impossible. He shoved his hand down on her chest and she held her breath, "Forget about turning you, you're blood smell's delicious!" He pressed his claws into her chest cavity and she cried out in pain, hearing his fingers digging into her ribs. With a shaking hand, she raised it and slammed it against Roscoe's head. He growled at her touch and proceeded to press his fingers into her chest. Just then, Roscoe froze as he felt a burning sensation in his face, Rowan gasping for air as she concentrated all her energy in her hand. Her ears flooded with his blood curdling wails and her face lit up as a white light emitted from his eyes and mouth, the skin on his face simmering from the brightness.

And as soon as the light appeared, it was gone.

Roscoe's body went limp and Rowan tossed it off her wounded figure, groaning from the pain as she gripped her chest and sat upright. Panting, she looked up to see Sam staring at her in shock at what he had just seen. He gripped his wounded arm and she noticed a few scratches and cuts on his body at well. He shook his head and ran up to her as she tried to get to her feet, grabbing one of her arms and lifting her to her feet. She winced from the pain in her thrashed thigh and avoided standing on it, putting her hand on Sam's shoulder for leverage,

"Are you alright?" He panted, staring at her wounds and bloody frame,

"Y-yeah… I'll manage. Don't worry about me, what about you?"

"I'm fine… what the hell did you do to him?" The stink of Roscoe's burning flesh smoked into the air as Sam looked down at him, confused on exactly what happened to him. Rowan swallowed the blood in her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut,

"I'll tell you later… let's just get you healed up." She looked up at him and his eyebrows knitted together,

"Yo-you're eye… it's bleeding."

Rowan ignored his obvious statement and pressed her hand against his face, closing her eyes and concentrating once again. Sam gasped for air as if he had been deprived of it for minutes, his muscle locking up, and his body freezing as he felt his wounds being relieved with a frosty sensation.

**.:=:.**

"Well boys, it sure was fun." Rowan smiled with her backpack resting on her shoulder and standing at a bus stop, staring at the two brothers with regard. Dean and Sam nodded towards her with their own smiles,

"Couldn't have done much without you, that's for sure." Dean put his hand out and Rowan stared at it for a minute before taking his hand in hers in a handshake. She looked back up at Dean, who smiled down at her,

"Finally getting to trust me, huh?"

"You're not as bad as you seem."

"Thanks, pretty boy." They pulled their hands apart and Sam rested his in his jacket pockets, shrugging his shoulders,

"Good luck on fixing your bike. Thanks again for helping me out, I appreciate it."

"Eh, you two kinda grew on me." She playfully slapped Sam's arm and pulled a paper out of her pocket, handing it to Dean,

"Call me if you guys need anything. I'll be happy to help."

"Of course." Dean nodded and took the paper, staring at the number. They heard the hissing of the bus exhaust behind them and looked up, seeing the bus coming to a screeching halt at the station. Rowan looked at the Winchesters before smirking and walking towards the bus backwards,

"Too bad you guys can't drive me back to Bobby's… I'd sure like another ride in that beautiful Impala of yours!"

"We got another case lined up!"

"Sorry!" They called back at her, waving as she turned and stepped onto the giant bus. Sam and Dean turned around to walk back to their motel, hands shoved in their pockets,

"You're right, she's not so bad. Pretty strong for a girl." Sam smirked while looking at Dean. Dean cocked his head and shrugged a shoulder,

"Yeah, but I still don't trust her." Sam's smile dropped and he nodded more to himself than his brother. Dean looked up at him, "How the hell do wounds that deep heal in one day? And what about what she did to you?"

"Like I said before… she just touched my forehead and before I knew it, my arm and other wounds were healed in an instant. I can't say the same about her though; but you're right about one thing, she's not human."

"What the hell could she be?"


	5. Chapter 5

It was a hot, sweaty day south of the city of Sioux Falls, a bit odd for fall weather. There were numerous clouds in the sky that cuddled with the heat of the air and thunder bellowed behind the mountains of the Rockies. A soft breeze blew around the old junkyard in the middle of the forest, rattling the signs and wind chimes that carelessly hung about the house.

An old stereo's speakers thumped loudly and the croaking of a socket wrench squeaked back and forth in the pauses of the guitar riffs. Rowan gritted her teeth and shoved the edge of exhaust pipe into the muffler, rubbing her hand across her dirty forehead. Grabbing the welding mask and torch on the table, she shoved the mask on her head and turned on the gas to the torch, lighting the flame with flint.

She pressed the flame up against the metal and heated the two creases together, welding to the point where they would be unbreakable. She pulled the torch away and pulled up the mask, staring at the lava red metal and she sighed in relief, standing to her feet and setting her tools down on the table. She nodded her head at the beat of the drums playing on the stereo. An old AC/DC tape was playing in the boom box courtesy of Bobby and she smiled, looking for the right wrench to finish off her project,

"It's a long way, to the top if you wanna rock and roll!" She hummed the rest of the lyrics in her throat as she turned and pressed the gas line in the right place, placing the head of the wrench on the bolt and tightening it.

"Damn, you sure know how work, I tell ya!" She heard a familiar voice shout over the radio and she looked over her shoulder, seeing Bobby walking up and staring in awe. She smiled and jumped up, turning off the stereo and staring at him,

"I don't mess around when it comes to my motorcycle."

"I can see that. Last time I saw this thing was yesterday morning and all it was, was a frame." Rowan snickered to herself and wiped her greasy hands on a dirty towel,

"Yeah well… dad left me more than good hunting skills." She glanced back at the finished bike and then back to Bobby, "If you didn't order the parts so late I would've been out off your bald head a long time ago." Bobby rolled his eyes and walked towards her,

"Very funny, missy." He leaned on the table and stared at the blacked-out street bike resting on its stand. With almost a week on the bench, it was begging to be ridden.

"I need to get back to work, it's boring around here."

"Well, I haven't found any cases that Dean and Sam haven't already covered." Bobby crossed his arms, watching Rowan rolling her eyes and sighing, throwing the dirty cloth back on the table with Bobby's old tools,

"Just eating everything up they can get, right?"

"That's what they usually do. What, can't keep up?" A grin slowly crawled across her cheeks,

"I've racked up more cases in a year they've probably handled in a decade."

"That's not hard to believe." Bobby sighed and handed her a yellow package. Rowan's eyebrows knitted and she stared at it curiously while taking it in her hands,

"What's this?"

"Some stuff I made and ordered. All your stuff got stolen when this thing got cleaned out, right?" Rowan opened the top and tipped the bottom of it up, dumping a few of its contents into her hand. ID and contact cards stared her in the face and she looked up at Bobby, "I knew as soon as you got this thing fixed up you'd be splittin' without a second thought. So while you were waiting for the parts for this thing, I called in some orders."

"Thanks Bobby, I appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it, Dean called and made sure I got you some specifics." Rowan tilted her hand and looked down, staring at the extra FBI ID in her fingers. She lifted it closer to her face and stared at the name, and once realizing it what it said, she scoffed and rolled her eyes, slamming her hand against her thigh,

"You've got to be kidding me…" She lifted the ID up to Bobby and raised an eyebrow,

"Seriously?" The name **Rowan Winchester** stared him in the face and he only shrugged, shaking his head,

"He must've called and made that himself. I don't remember ordering that one." Rowan shook her head annoyingly and walked past Bobby, stopping at the bike and unclipping the hollowed out seat. She dumped all the fake ID's into the seat and slammed it shut,

"Thanks Bobby."

"No problem, kid." Rowan grabbed her leather jacket off a stool and threw it over her chest. She looked over at Bobby, "Where you headed now?"

"I'm gonna run to a storage unit my dad has in Wisconsin and stock up. Guns, money, supplies… everything."

"Well if you need anything, just let me know."

"Of course, thanks for your help I really appreciate it." Rowan yanked the street bike off the stand and rolled it through the dirt trail of the junkyard. She shoved on her helmet and tightened her backpack around her shoulders, clipping the strap across her chest. The key pressed into the ignition and she closed her eyes, hoping that the bike would start.

With one turn of the starter, the bike grumbled to life.

With the help of yanking the accelerator, the screaming engine erupted and whined loudly that it made Rowan shudder. She opened her eyes with a smile and slapped down the shield of her helmet, pressing down on the gear shift and knocking it into first. Twisting the gas, she let out the clutch and the back tire spun violently until it grasped onto the ground under the gravel, heaving forward and speeding down the forested road.

**.:=:.**

_**Eau Claire, Wisconsin**_

Night had slowly eaten the light of the sun as Rowan rolled into the large town of Eau Claire, seeing the bright lights of the old town's tourist attractions. Her street bike grumbled in a low mutter as she pulled into a storage unit, typing in the code to the locked gate and waiting for it to open. She slid in and followed the concrete pathways until coming to one of the larger units, turning off her motorcycle and pulling off her helmet.

She rotated the four combo numbers and yanked on the lock, unlocking it and pulling it off. She grabbed her bike handles and walked the semi-new motorcycle in to make sure it would not be touched while she wasn't looking. Shutting the door behind her, she turned on the lights and sighed once seeing the familiar sight in front of her. Rowan walked in further and pulled off her backpack, setting it down on a dusty table and sitting on the rough plastic covering a bed in the corner.

Vivid memories flooded her mind of when her and her sister, Ellena, used to stay in this very unit when her father was off on cases. She only stayed here when monsters and demons were after her dad and the walls, ceiling, and floor was littered with warding symbols and devils traps. She glanced about the many gun racks that were bolted to a wall, shotguns, rifles, and pistols all staring her in the face, waiting to be touched once again.

She lied back on the crunchy bed and closed her eyes, sighing and resting her hands on her chest.

"_When's dad gonna be back? It's been almost a week…"_

"_Just chill out Ellena, you know he'll be here within the next couple of days. Just think about the present he'll bring you this time!" Rowan reassured her disappointed little sister. She handed Ellena a sandwich she made and Ellena stared at it with a bored expression, twiddling her lips and groaning,_

"_Sandwiches again?"_

"_What? You don't want it?" Rowan questioned with a mouth full of bread and stale lunch meat. Ellena sighed and looked at her,_

"_We couldn't have gone out to eat?" Rowan swallowed her food hard and put her sandwich down on her lap,_

"_You know we're only allowed to leave in the daytime. If I could take you out, I would." Ellena stared solemnly down at the cold sandwich, pouting in discontent. Rowan sighed internally and stared at her disappointed sister, feeling bad. She then stood to her feet and threw the sandwich in the trash, turning towards her red headed sister and smiling, "Well… whatever dad doesn't know won't hurt him, right?" A bright smile lit up on Ellena's face and she jumped to her little feet. Rowan turned and grabbed two hex bags from a table littered with monster supplies. She shoved one in Ellena's front pocket and then proceeded to put one in her own,_

"_You really think there are demons after dad again?" Rowan pouted at Ellena, thinking of her dad, all alone, off fighting demons by himself. She was a bit angered that an eight year old knew so much about the disheartening world already and her father was so persistent on making Ellena believe it. But making the best of it, Rowan put a smile on her face and grabbed Ellena's hand, towing her to the door,_

"_Don't worry about dad; he can take care of himself. He'll show up tomorrow with our presents, just you see!"_

"_Alright…" Rowan locked the door behind them and stuffed her key in the pocket of her jacket. Looking at Ellena as they walked through the large hallways of storage units, she smiled,_

"_So, what do you feel like eating?"_

"_I don't know… that pizza place we passed when we were driving into town looked good."_

"_That's a long walk, Ell."_

"_Come on Roe… please!?" Ellena clasped her hands together and pouted while staring into Rowan's equally bright blue eyes. Rowan tried to avoid them but eventually gave into her innocence,_

"_Ugh, fine. But we can't be gone too long!" They marched out the gate of the storage facility and walked down the sidewalk of the town. It was a weekday so the town was slightly desolate so late in the evening. Rowan looked curiously into the windows of the clothing boutiques, seeing dresses and pretty clothing that interested her to the point where she almost walked into every store to buy everything. But even being an eleven-year old, she had to restrain herself with a ten thousand dollar credit card in her wallet._

"_Hey Roe, do we know that guy?" Ellena murmured to her sister and Rowan looked down at her, seeing her looking across the street. Rowan followed her gaze and noticed a very large man with black hair staring at them intently, his face solemn. She took a deep breath and put her hand on Ellena's back, guiding her back down the concrete path they came, "What's wrong?"_

"_Don't look at him and keep walking." Rowan kept her sister moving and glanced over her shoulder inconspicuously. She saw the man following them on the other side of the street, his eyes still focused on the two red headed sisters. Rowan turned her face forward, seeing the block where the storage unit light coaxed them and grabbed her sister's hand, "Run!"_

_Rowan broke into a sprint and Ellena easily followed her lead as their old sneakers thudded across the ground. Ellena pumped her arms faster to keep pace with her sister and Rowan looked over her shoulder, seeing the man gone. She turned her head back over her shoulder and pulled Ellena around a corner, skidding to a halt. _

_Rowan stared fearful in the eyes of the large man, his eyes shifting to total blackness as a contorted smile crossed his face, "Hello, little girls."_

Rowan opened her eyes and took a much needed breath, lurching upwards and rubbing her head. One of her crueler memories haunted her in this place and she stood to her feet, taking a quick walk around the large unit. Stopping and staring at the wall of guns, she looked down to her bare shoulder, seeing the purple ink of the large tattoo clasping onto her skin. Rubbing a hand over the purple lily, she remembered when she had gotten it from a family friend in a small town of Wyoming. She had gotten it at age sixteen and smiled at the memory when her dad saw it the first time and how furious he was with her. Ellena was always mesmerized by the beauty of it; but of course, Rowan had gotten it in her honor.

**.:=:.**

Rowan lied on the bed, completely out cold from exhaustion, with her arm over her face. She breathed lightly and groaned in her sleep, memories and dreams haunting her every wake.

Her phone rung loudly, vibrating against the hardwood table next to her, not letting up until she awoke. Finally, she lurched up and looked around, finding the phone and taking it into her hand. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared at the unfamiliar number, groaning and running a hand through her dark red hair,

"Hello?"

"_Rowan?"_ She tilted her head with the phone lazily gripped in her phone, trying to decipher the voice,

"Who is this?

"_Dean? What? Can't tell me by my voice?"_

"No, I try to block out things that are annoying." She smiled cockily as she heard him scoff on the other end of the phone. Standing to her feet and placing a hand on her hip, she walked around the storage unit, "So, what's so important that you have to wake me up?"

"_You said to call if we needed your help… well… I hate to say it but we could really use it."_

"What's the problem?"

"_It's hard to explain over the phone…" _Rowan sighed and stared up at the dim light above her head and then closed her eyes tiredly,

"What's the basics?"

"_We need help protecting someone… and I know you're pretty strong." _Rowan smiled smugly and opened her eyes, looking back at the bed,

"Well, I am better than you and Jolly Green. Where are you guys at?"

"_Randal, Washington."_

"Alright then… I'll be there in about five hours." Without hearing his response, she ended the phone call and shoved the phone back into her pocket. Rubbing a hand down her face and walking towards the bed, she grabbed her jacket and tossed her arms through it. Placing the plastic back on the bed, she hurried and gathered her supplies and guns to stuff in the seat of her motorcycle.

Hours had passed as she sped down the highways in the rain, in the dry, and over mountain passes in order to get to Washington. She was pushing her new engine to the max; racing at almost a hundred and thirty miles an hour to kill time. Only stopping once for gas, she hurried on her way to Randal, curious as to what exactly the Winchesters needed help with.

_Welcome to Randal: The Evergreen Capital!_

She brushed past the sign and slowed her pace, following the landmarks that Dean had explained in his directions when she stopped for gas. She turned down a dark roadway and the damp concrete made Rowan slow her pace even more, the street tires on her bike not liking wet roads so much. She pulled up the shield of her helmet and looked around through the moonlight, spotting a dirt driveway and rolling in quietly.

The bright lights of her headlights shined on the wet and black paint of the Impala; Rowan turning off her engine and sliding herself off the straddled seat. She pulled off her helmet and placed it on her handle bar, walking up the decaying wooden steps and knocking on the door. She heard deep footsteps rumbling across the floors inside and heard the creaking doorknob turn, looking up when the door opened and seeing Sam staring down at her with surprise,

"Wow… you made it faster than we expected."

"Yeah well my new engine doesn't suck as much gas as the other one did." She pushed past him and walked into the abandoned, barn-like cabin, looking around at all the cobwebs and broken doors that littered the walls. Her eyes stopped when she saw a dark red headed woman leaning on a post, narrowing her eyes and knitting her eyebrows in curiosity. She stood in front of Dean and another unfamiliar, dark haired woman. Hearing the door shut behind her, she turned to Sam, "What did you guys need me for?" Sam pointed to the red headed woman and walked through a door-less doorway, pointing his thumb over her shoulder,

"Hey guys, Rowan's here." Sam shoved his hands in his pockets and looked back at Rowan as she walked into the room. They all looked at her and her eyes focused on the red headed woman, stopping and watching as her dark eyes met Rowan's blue icicles. Rowan's eyes glanced over to the dark haired woman, noticing her face was a bit disturbed and she took a step back,

"Well, you two have quite the pair here. An angel a demon in one place? What's the occasion?" She looked over at Dean questioningly and crossed her arms, watching his eyebrows knit in confusion,

"Wait… how the hell do you know what they are…?"

"It takes me a little while… but I'm seeing their true faces." She looked back over at the red haired woman, noticing her approach,

"You… you're the soldier the angels are talking about…" Rowan tilted her head and heard the dark haired woman's shaky voice speak,

"You're not an angel or demon, what the hell are you?" Rowan looked over at her, walking towards the woman and uncrossing her arms,

"Someone you wish you didn't meet."

"That's enough, Rowan." She felt Sam's large hand squeeze her shoulder and look up to him, seeing his serious face, "It's hard enough for us to trust you. There's obviously something you're not telling us."

"Well, there's obviously something you guys didn't tell me. In cahoots with angels and having a little pet demon running around with you? What makes you so sure I want to help?"

"Because you're not that type of person." Dean spoke for the first time and his face was serious as Rowan looked over to him. Her eyes narrowed and she took a couple steps towards him before stopping,

"What makes you so sure…?" Dean only stared at her and he and Rowan had a secret, eye-contact only conversation. Rowan took a deep breath and glanced over at the two, strange women, crossing her arms, "What's going on that's so important for me to be here?"

"This is Anna and Ruby. You already know Anna's an angel and Ruby's a demon, so there's no explanation there." Sam sighed and glanced at Ruby before looking back at Rowan. Dean walked up to Rowan,

"Anna needs our help. Both the demons and angels are after her and they want her for information. We need to protect her at all costs."

"So… you're holding her up in a barn…?" Rowan asked while staring at him questioningly and he had nothing to say. Anna stared at her,

"My grace was stolen… without it, I'm powerless."

"I can see that…" Rowan turned around and walked towards a window, staring out into the darkness of the trees. Dean and Sam exchanged glances and he sighed, rubbing the back of his head,

"Alright… we have the hex bags… I say we head back to the panic room."

"What? And stay there forever?" Ruby asked cockily and Dean stared at her hatefully,

"Well I'm just thinking out loud!"

"Oh, you call that thinking?"

"Hey… hey, hey!? Stop it…" Sam walked up to mediate and Ruby uncrossed her arms,

"Anna's grace is gone! She can't angel up, she can't protect us! We can't fight heaven and hell… one side maybe, but not both!"

"Um, guys? The angels are talking again…" Everyone looked at Anna, who seemed alarmed as she stared off into space. Rowan turned around and stared at her curiously, Sam looking at her questioningly,

"What are they saying?"

"It's weird… like a recording… it says… Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight or…"

"Or what?" Dean asked confused and Anna looked at him, her face concerned,

"Or we hurl him back to damnation…" Sam and Dean looked at each other with alarmed expressions, Rowan staring at them confused. She looked to Dean,

"What do they mean by "damnation?" Dean looked over at her and shrugged his shoulders lightly, cocking his head,

"I may or may not have been to hell…?"

"What!?" Rowan seemed stunned by his statement and stared at him with a gaping mouth, not believing what she was hearing. Sam walked towards Anna and leaned down,

"Anna, do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?"

"You mean… kill them?" Sam nodded and Anna looked down, her brain working quickly. She shook her head,

"Nothing we could get to. Not right now…"

"Okay, wait… I say we call Bobby, see what he has to say-"

"Dean, what is he gonna tell us that we don't already know!?"

"I don't know, but we gotta think of something!" Dean bit back at his brother and Sam only swallowed a stubborn lump in his throat while looking at him.

**.:=:.**

Rowan's eyes clenched shut and she leaned against the wall, struggling to take in deep breaths and her hands beginning to quiver. Her brain worked and worked, but nothing came to mind to the biggest question of the night: killing an angel. Her ears didn't pick up the footsteps approaching her and she jumped when she heard Sam's voice,

"Hey, you alright?" She looked up at him and grunted annoyingly, looking out the window she leaned next to. He noticed a small, cold sweat had broken out on her forehead,

"Yeah I'm fine just… concentrating…" Sam leaned against the wall and sighed, looking out the window. Rowan looked at him from the corner of her eyes, then back out the window that began to slowly illuminate under the sunrise,

"Where's Dean?"

"I don't know… last time I saw him he was out by the Impala trying to find a way to kill an angel." Rowan snorted and shook her head,

"It's impossible…"

"How would you know?" Rowan looked at him and contemplated for a few moments before sighing, looking at the floor,

"Because… with all my encounters with the angels not once have I been able to find out a way to kill them."

"So you do know they exist?" Rowan smirked and looked back up at the gentle giant,

"There's a reason I can see their faces… a reason I can take down virtually anything…"

"Like that werewolf in the forest?" Rowan's eyes lowered and she paused. Sam looked out the window,

"You're going have to tell us eventually… in order to earn our trust."

"I'll tell you what," Rowan and Sam looked at each other,

"As soon as we get all this shit figured out, you tell me why Dean went to hell, you have a demon following you about, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know about me."

"For some odd reason, I think you're lying."

"You're not as dumb as you look." Rowan smirked and turned around, walking out of the room. Her feet walked across the dirty floors and she heard a splash, looking over and seeing Dean sitting on a bale of hay, taking a swig from his flask. She saw Anna staring out through the cracks of the barn door and looked back at Dean, walking towards him,

"So pretty boy, what's the plan?"

"I do have a name, you know." Rowan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms,

"Does it look like I care? I don't want to be sitting here for all eternity."

"You won't be… get ready for the clash of the titans." Her eyebrows drew together and she stared at him curiously,

"What do you mean?" Sam walked into the room and Dean ignored Rowan's question,

"You ready, Sammy?"

"I don't know man, where's Ruby?"

"I don't see how you guys can trust her." Rowan mumbled and Sam looked over at her, worry obviously stricken across his face. Dean shook his head and took another swig from his flask,

"She's your hell buddy…"

"A little early for that, is it?" Anna asked while walking up to Dean and he shook his head,

"It's two a.m. somewhere…"

"You okay?" She asked concerned and Dean only brushed it off his shoulder,

"Yeah, of course."

A huge gust of wind blew through the barn and the doors burst open, slamming against the walls and startling the group. Rowan looked over with her eyes wide and stared at the two men who entered their hideout, her lips parting in a silent gasp.

Castiel and Uriel marched in, the doors slamming behind them as they came to a casual stop. Castiel looked at Anna, "Hello Anna… it's good to see you again." Rowan choked down a mouthful of air and Castiel's eyes moved over to hers; Rowan quickly looking to Dean and Sam,

"Wait… you guys are running from _**them**_?"

"You know them?" Dean asked and Rowan looked back to Castiel, then to the ground without answering Dean. Castiel looked down disapprovingly and Uriel only laughed,

"I told you she was a traitor…"

"How'd you guys find us?" Sam asked in disbelief, standing in front of everyone in defense. There was a long silence between everyone as they searched for answers and looked to Dean, watching as he tried to avoid their gazes and looked at the ground in shame,

"Dean?"

"I'm sorry…" Rowan growled and stared at the Winchester,

"I came all this way for nothing!?" Dean only stared at Anna and Sam growled,

"Why!?"

"Because they gave him a choice…" Anna said with disapproval, staring at the younger brother,

"They either kill me… or kill you. I know how their minds work." Rowan's jaw clenched tightly in anger and annoyance as she stared at the angels, then back to the Winchesters, her mind split in two. Anna put her hand on Dean's shoulder, trying to comfort him,

"You did the best you could… I forgive you." Anna looked back at her fellow angels and walked towards them. Castiel avoided her gaze and looked to Rowan for support,

"I'm disappointed in you Rowan… are you really going to stand with the rebels of heaven? Or are you going to stand with the one who spared you from your downfall?" Rowan looked at Castiel with a broken face, not being able to say a word. Castiel narrowed his eyes and his mouth drew in a thin line, Uriel looking at him, "Let's just take her with us too… you know heaven doesn't tolerate traitors." Rowan stared at Uriel hatefully and he smirked joyously, Castiel only looking at him with uncertainty. Looking back at Anna, she took a deep breath,

"Okay… I'm' ready. No more tricks and no more hiding…"

"I'm sorry…" Castiel's apology was halfhearted and Anna only shook her head,

"No… not really. You don't know the feeling."

"Still… we have history. It's just-"

"Orders are orders. I know… just make it quick!"

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girls head…" Rowan's eyes widened and she turned around, seeing Ruby being held up by two men and another staring at them with greed. Ruby's stomach bled profusely and Rowan growled in her throat, seeing their demonic faces staring at her. The head demon looked over at Rowan, a large smile crossing his face,

"Oh my goodness… an angel and a Rogan in one room!? Boy… I hit the jackpot."

"How dare you enter this room… what an eyesore…" Uriel walked forward with clear disgust in his voice and stared at the demon hatefully. The demon walked forward challengingly,

"Name calling? That hurt my feelings… you sanctimonious pneumatic prick!"

"Turn around and walk away now, Alistair!" Castiel warned and Rowan looked over at him, seeing his muscles tense,

"Sure… just give us the angel… and your pet, we'll be right on our way. We'll make sure their tortured good and proper." He smirked while looking over at Rowan and Anna lustfully. Castiel looked to Rowan, narrowing his eyes and looking back to Alistair,

"You know who we are and what we do…" Castiel's voice was hostile and it was the first time Rowan had ever heard it in such a manner. He walked towards Alistair, his eyes turning violent as he stopped next to Uriel, "I'm not going to say it again… leave now or we lay waste."

"I think I'll take my chances." There was a long pause as the mortal enemies stared each other down, Alistair's eyes narrowing with a wicked grin as he glanced over at Rowan,

"You might as well hand yourself over now." Rowan felt her back slam against the barns doors and burst through them, sliding across the dirt. Her head rammed against the ground upon impact and she gasped out in pain, squeezing her eyes shut. The muscles of her jaw tightened and a faint groan rolled out of her throat into the air.

A pair of rough hands latched onto the flaps on her jacket and her eyes burst open, staring into the black eyes on another demon. He reached his fist back and shoved it into her cheek, pain surging through her face as she was hoisted to her feet and thrown across the ground again. Rowan was quick to use the motion to her advantage and flipped to her feet, her blue eyes staring through her red bangs to see the demon running after her. Rowan dodged to the side, avoiding his barreling fist aimed for her flawless face. Rowan grabbed the demons head and slammed it into her knee, feeling the crack of his nose busting against her kneecap. He cried out and clawed at her with his fingers, Rowan punching his cheek as hard as she could while watching him stumble back from her force. He leaned up and wiped the back of his hand across his cheek, slowly staring back at her with a cocky grin, watching the blood trickling from the broken skin he caused on her lip, "Alistair is going to have fun with you… you're a fighter."

He ran at her again and she kneed him in the stomach, feeling his hands gripping her jacket once again as he slammed her against the dirt. She wriggled her foot into his stomach and kicked him as hard as she could, sending him careening through the air. Her feet scrambled to get her back upright and he was swift to beat her at her own game, gripping his large hand around her throat and digging his fingernails greedily into her pale skin. She latched onto his wrist and squeezed as tightly as she could to pry him off, but she knew that there wouldn't be a possibility. Thinking fast, Rowan bent her arm and with nothing but blunt force, her elbow crashed down against his forearm and snapped the bone. The demons hand released her and she stepped back, watching him grip his now burning arm and stare at her hatefully. Rowan couldn't help but smirk to herself as she watched his eyes widen in surprise at the sight of the cuts on her neck slowly closing up. Her chest bounced up and down in pants, her icy eyes turning dark, "I'm getting sick of your shit."

He laughed and his eyes flicked black once again, Rowan narrowing her eyes in disgust at what he was. She threw all her body weight into her fist and he blocked it with his broken forearm, kneeing her in the gut and knocking the breath from her lungs. She growled and felt a tingle between her shoulders when he shoved his elbow down on her back; her legs kicked her forward and she tackled him to the ground. Her legs gripped his sides tightly as she sat on his chest, her arm reaching back and sending an unrelenting force of brutal strength into his face.

Over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.

Finally giving him what he deserved, the palm of her hand rested against the demons disordered face and she gritted her teeth, focusing all her energy into her hand. The demons skin began to sizzle and he screamed out in agony upon feeling the wrath of heaven, his eyes and mouth glowing with an intense white light. It exploded through his face and body, Rowan feeling his head go limp in the tight grip of her hand, along with his body, and she dropped his face. Her legs shakily pushed her feet under her and back to the familiar upright position.

Her head tossed in the direction of blood curdling screams, seeing an intense, white light radiating all through the abandoned building. The ground began to shake under her feet and finally, the white light exploded and shattered trees around her.

Rowan panted, feeling the pain of the demons hands on her body pulsating through her skin. With her arms up around her defensively, she lowered them and stared back towards the unharmed barn, wincing from a sudden surge through her beat up cheek. Taking a step forward, she swayed back towards the barn and leaned on the door, staring in and only seeing Dean, Sam, and Ruby standing in the dirt rubble.

"Thanks for the help, guys…" She groaned with sarcasm and walked in, the boys staring over at her in disbelief,

"You're alive?" Rowan looked at Sam and raised an eyebrow,

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"We thought Alistair sent a little troop after you to take you away."

"And you didn't bother to go check? I was getting my ass handed to one of Alistair's lieutenants!" She bit back at Dean, incredibly annoyed. His jaw hardened and his eyes darkened,

"We were trying to deal with him _and_ the angels in here! Our hands were a little full!" Rowan rolled her eyes and growled in her throat, walking to the place where Castiel and Uriel appeared. She stared down at the footprints and sighed,

"So… what happened to Anna?" Dean and Sam exchanged looks with one another and Dean stared at Rowan's back,

"We don't know exactly… she just kinda… exploded into a ball of light." Rowan turned towards him and looked up at the ceiling as if trying to find someone. Closing her eyes, she shook her head,

"I am in big trouble."

**.:=:.**

The afternoon was calm and quiet as the three hunters leaned up against the Impala next to a field on the highway. A soft breeze blew through the valley, caressing their faces and dancing about their presences. Dean reached into a small ice chest next to his black beauty, his fingers tingling from the cold ice inside.

"Beer?" Rowan looked at Dean with the alcohol offering in his hand. She smiled and took it, placing the rim to her lips and taking a large swig. Dean grabbed his own and popped off the cap, taking a drink along with her. Rowan stared at him for a moment and then back out to the field,

"So, care to tell me what you went to hell for? You promised."

"I didn't promise anything." He shook his head and stared out into the same field she looked to. Sam nudged his brother with his elbow and shrugged his shoulders,

"She does have a right to know… I mean, she did try to help us out."

"You want my trust… and I guess I want yours, too." Rowan smiled over at Dean with a charming spark in her blue eyes. He sighed softly and took another drink of his beer, as if hesitating,

"Sam got killed about a couple years ago, I made a deal with a crossroads demon, got my ass kicked by some hellhounds about a year later, and just about a month ago our buddy Castiel gripped me tight and raised me from perdition." He mimicked Castiel's words and took another sip of his beverage. Knitting his eyebrows when Rowan didn't respond right away, he looked down at her, "What? No smartass remark?" Rowan's blue eyes met his and she shook her head,

"That's rough." Looking to Sam, who drank his beer in silence and stared out into the abyss. She smiled,

"Come on, Sam, it's your turn."

"What?"

"That demon bitch." She raised an eyebrow and Dean smirked, taking a drink of his beer,

"That's Sammy's girlfriend." Sam stared at Dean with an irritated look and Rowan sighed with a smile,

"Wow Sam, you gotta get a better taste in woman." She took another drink of her beer and Sam only rolled his eyes, staring back out into the field,

"She helped me while Dean was away. Kept me sane and helped me hunt." He looked over at Rowan curiously and tilted his head, "And what about you oh-wonderful-saint." He said matter-of-factly and Dean looked over at her as well, his curiosity obviously peaked. Rowan's mouth drew into a thin line and she looked back out towards the far away mountains, shoving a hand in her pocket. She took a drink of her beer and Dean raised an eyebrow,

"Are you even human?"

"Yes." Rowan didn't hesitate in replying to him, her toned a bit annoyed and suppressed. She looked down at the dirt road as she kicked about small rocks with her shoe, her eyes narrowing, "I didn't want you guys to really know about it and I tried to restrain myself. But the healing… it more acts on its own than what I can control." She looked back up at the boys with her eyes squinted from the sunlight above them. A crooked smile grew on her face, "I'm an advocate for the angels, you might say."

"What do you mean by that?" Sam asked a bit confused and the soft breeze blew Rowan's hair about her face as she looked out to the never ending field,

"It was a little over a year ago after my sister died… I was on the verge of death and Castiel came to me. He gave me a choice to either die, or put my life to good use; to save more people than I could ever do normally. I took his path and he gave me power…" She glanced over at Sam and Dean, shrugging her shoulders, "And here we are." Dean's eyebrows knitted together as he stared at her,

"So you're able to smite demons? And heal yourself? How can you manage that in a human body?" He still seemed a bit skeptical, not really believing her story of the facts. Rowan sighed and shook her head,

"He gave me a very, very little chunk of his power. He says I have an oddly strong soul for a human and that's why I can hold his power… but my control over it is very limited." Her eyes found Sam's, "That's why I looked so sickly while I was standing by the window. I was concentrating so hard on hiding myself. Because I have some of Castiel's power we have a very deep connection with each other and he can find me basically anywhere; keeping an eye on me as much as he can."

"Well… talk about taxi cab confessions…" Dean mumbled and took a drink of his beer. Rowan looked to Dean,

"You wanted to know… now you know." Rowan took a drink of her beer as well and she sighed to herself as the liquor rolled down her throat. The three stood in silence for a few moments, each looking at the beautiful golden field in front of them. Sam looked back over at Rowan, a question brewing in his head,

"So how much trouble do you think you're in for being with us? Trying to help Anna?" Rowan tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders, not really thinking much of it,

"Well… I've been all but loyal to Cas since he gave me power and betrayal in heaven isn't taken lightly. Uriel's probably trying to do all he can to convince him to kill me on my feet."

"He doesn't like you either?" Dean smirked and Rowan grew a smile as well, shaking her head,

"He says I'm an unworthy pet." Rowan looked over at Dean and he nodded,

"Chuckles is just a bag of fun, isn't he?"

"About as much as a bag full of porcupines." The three laughed together for the first time since their encounters. Rowan took a deep breath and let it out slowly,

"I don't know how much trouble I'm in… but I don't really care."

"What if they kill you… or try?" Dean asked with seriousness, staring at the red headed woman. Her face twisted into thought and she eventually shook her head,

"Castiel won't kill me… he may be an unemotional asshole but he's not that cold blooded. Even if he were ordered to do it, I don't think he could. Now Uriel on the other hand…" Her voice faded off as her lips curled around the rim of her beer bottle, taking in the rest of the brewed alcohol of the container. Sam took a deep breath and nodded more to himself than anyone,

"He did sound a bit concerned when you went through that barn door... even for him."

"I wouldn't know. I was too busy getting my ass handed to me by an advanced level demon."

"Sorry about that, by the way." Dean apologized and Rowan shrugged,

"It's in the past, don't worry about it." She threw the empty bottle in the ice chest and wiped her hands on her pants, pushing her weight off the Impala. She looked over at the brothers and turned towards them while placing her hands in her back pockets,

"So… we gonna kick this apocalypse thing in the ass or what? I'm sick of waiting around." Dean and Sam looked at each other, both a bit shocked at her statement. They looked back at the smaller woman,

"How did you know about that?"

"I knew about it for a while now… just didn't want to stick my hand in a pot of boiling water."

"What do you mean by that?" Dean leaned towards her curiously, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged her shoulders,

"You didn't think Castiel's deal with me came with no strings attached, did you?"


	6. Chapter 6

"So… you gonna tell me where your nest is? Or do I have to pry it from your cold, blood sucking hands?" Rowan circled the bound female in the strong, wooden chair, while twirling a sharp knife in her fingers. The woman panted heavily as blood dripped from her pale lips and her head limped up to watch Rowan as she stopped in front of her. Leaning down, Rowan scraped the edge of her large knife on the woman's cheek, "Did I give you too much dead man's blood that you can't talk?" The woman heaved in a breath and spit blood all over Rowan's face,

"Bite me…!" Rowan sighed and wiped her sleeve across her mouth, smirking and turning around. She grabbed a dirty towel from a table and wiped off whatever blood she could from her face,

"Smart, I'll give you that… trying to spit your blood in my mouth. Never seen a vampire do that before, no matter how many _friendly_ conversations I've had with some of them. I bet you're dying to see me become one of you." Rowan tossed the towel back on the abandoned warehouses table and turned around, facing the semi-paralyzed vampire. Her second set of fangs descended from her gums as she let out a deep hiss, her hands shaking in the barbed wire cuffs that kept her hands nailed to the chair.

"Scary." Rowan booted the vampire in the face and the chair slammed back to the concrete ground below her. The vampire coughed and groaned loudly, an obvious pain scuttling through her body. Rowan grabbed the edge of the chair and heaved it back on four legs to continue her tough work on the blood sucking human. The vamps head bowed forward and Rowan grabbed her face, lifting it up and staring into her deep green eyes, "Tell me where your nest is and maybe I'll give you a five minute head start. I always love a good fight."

"Why…? So you can slaughter them like you did my old nest over a year ago…?" She mumbled and Rowan narrowed her eyes,

"Your old nest?"

"In Arizona… you came barging through the doors with a death wish… I've never seen a human as stupid as you. After what we did… how much blood you lost… it amazes me you're still alive…" Rowan laughed in her throat and nodded her head at the thought, letting the vampires face loose. The woman's green eyes continued to stare at Rowan,

"So you were the one that got away?"

"I had nothing left… not a nest, not a mate, not a life… all because of you!"

"You think that's going to make me feel bad?" Rowan tilted her head and her face grew sarcastically apologetic while staring at the bloody, battered vamp. The vampire's face began to twist into hate and anger as Rowan turned around, walking towards an item hidden in a drape. The vampire stared at her questioningly as Rowan's hand rested on the large object,

"You're going to tell me where that nest is one way or another… I've never met a vamp that can hold out, especially from this." She yanked the drape from the object and the vampires eyes widened in horror. Rowan sighed and smiled at the female's reaction, patting the metal light with her hand, "I know sunlight won't kill you guys… but I've had my experience with a high powered halogen light they use on construction sights and I gotta say, it looks like it hurts like a bitch." She looked back at the vampire while her finger traced over the outline of the _ON_ button, "Last chance while you have it." The vamp managed to choke down a rather stubborn lump in her throat but said nothing. Rowan shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the light, her finger standing straight up on the button, "Suit yourself."

Rowan shoved her finger down on the button and the intense light exploded throughout the room, making her turn her back on the vampire to avoid the bright light. Deafening screams echoed in the abandoned warehouse and Rowan only stared at the wall, humming a tune in her throat. She closed her eyes as the high pitched shrieks rung in her ears and sighed to herself, waiting for the desperate pleas of the vampire to hit her ears.

The vamp threw herself about in the wooden chair and screamed as loud as she could, pain riddling through her body. The light burned her skin like fire with gasoline and singed her flesh to the point where it began to steam off her muscles. The stench of her burning flesh began to radiate through the room, making Rowan's nose twist with disgust. She could hear the vampire beginning to cry and pant with surrender, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you just please turn off the light!"

Rowan turned around with a satisfactory smile and pushed down on the light switch, the lights disappearing faster than they appeared. The vampire whimpered in her seat and the singing sound of her burning flesh steamed about the room. Rowan stared down at her and the vampire struggled to lift her head, her face half burnt off, "They're g-gone…"

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Rowan gripped the vampire's neck tightly and she choked out, struggling to breathe,

"Th-they left… moved o-out. As soon as you c-captured m-me… they knew who you were… why you were h-he-re…" Rowan growled and shoved the vampire back again, the chair rocking on two legs upon returning back to its four. Rowan rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, drooping her head, "Ar-are you going to l-let me go…?" The vampire asked lightly, her voice riddle with pain. Rowan looked up at the ceiling and pulled the knife out from the sheath on her leg, swinging her arm around and slicing the flesh of the vampire's neck.

Her head thumped to the floor and rolled to a stop shortly after meeting the cold ground, Rowan only turning towards the dirty cloth and wiping the blood from her knife. Disappointingly, she shoved all her equipment into her backpack and shouldered it, walking out of the abandoned warehouse. She ran a hand through her hair and straddled the seat of her blacked out street bike, ramming the helmet on her head and turning the key on her ignition. The bike jumped into its first gear and she sped off through the marina, her deep red hair trying to escape from the bottom of her helmet.

**.:=:.**

The hot, steaming water of the shower pelted Rowan's soaked head and ran down her scarred and tattooed flesh until it hit the shower floor. Her hair hung in her face as she dipped her head between her shoulders, one hand on the wall under the shower head. She reached her free hand up around her shoulder, rubbing her hand across the purple lotus tattoo stretched across her shoulder. Her fingers reached back under her neck, feeling the fresher ink of her back tattoo that stretched down to her lower back.

A large crucifix.

The steamy water dripped off her eyelashes as she slowly blinked her eyes. Closing them, all she could see in the darkness of her eyelids were Dean and Sam's faces, remembering her last encounter with them during the angel fiasco. Knitting her eyebrows together, she opened her eyes and stared at the stained white floor of the motel bathtub beneath her feet.

Her hand found the knob above the faucet and she shut the water off before opening the curtains and grabbing her towel. She dabbed the water off her body and slipped into her sleeping clothes, preferably a pair of shorts and a messy t-shirt. The water of her damp hair stained the white shirt on her shoulders as she walked out of the bathroom. The steam of the recently shut off water desperately clung onto her and smoked about the air until the coolness of the room eradicated it. Feeling the chilly room brush across her skin, she stared at the door suspiciously and walked over towards it. Pulling the curtain away from the window, she glanced outside, feeling an unordinary presence about her. Her icy eyes scanned back and forth through the parking lot, seeing nothing unusual catching her eye.

Her muscles froze when she heard the too familiar noise of beating wings softly break the silence in the small motel room. Rowan managed to choke down whatever was stuck in her throat and slowly looked over her shoulder, seeing the baring blue eyes of her angel guardian staring her down. Her hand let go of the curtain and it quickly snapped back in place as she managed to turn around to face him,

"Hello, Rowan." She took a deep breath and her disturbed eyes continued to star into his face. His eyes softened and he took a few steps towards her, "Do not fear me; I'm not here to punish you." Hearing the sincerity in Castiel's rough voice, Rowan's muscles finally softened but she continued to stand by the door.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up. It's been more than a week." Castiel averted his eyes and Rowan walked towards him slowly. Castiel sighed and looked back at her, "Where have you been?"

"Seeking revelation…" Rowan's eyebrows drew together curiously and she tilted her head,

"Why? What's more to be done right now?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with." Castiel walked past her towards the window and Rowan rolled her eyes annoyingly. Turning around, she stared at the light tan trench coat that was on his back,

"So, decided not to kill me for my disloyalty, huh?"

"Your association with the Winchesters was inevitable and your involvement with Anna was questionable, but not liable to punishment. Uriel and I did what we could at the time and the demons appearance was something we didn't expect." Rowan took a deep breath while staring at Castiel, remembering that the demons involvement with the situation was all part of Sam's elaborate plan. Castiel looked over his shoulder,

"As much as Uriel has persuaded and begged me to, killing you is avoidable."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. Even if I decided to end your life you know very well you wouldn't be able to die by any means." Rowan glanced down at the ground and nodded to herself. Castiel turned his body around to face her and her blue eyes moved up to him. His eyes flickered to a healing bite wound on her arm and he grabbed it softly, examining the laceration, "How's your healing apparatus?" Rowan looked down at the bite mark curiously,

"I feel like it's getting a little stronger. Wounds I receive are starting to heal faster. It helps when I sew them up sometimes, too."

"Why do you so insist on getting bit every time you face the vampires?" Rowan smiled and pulled her arm from his grip, rubbing her fingers over the healing teeth marks,

"Hey, the stupid thing snuck up on me."

"Highly unlikely."

"I'm only human." Castiel narrowed his eyes and Rowan shrugged her shoulders, turning around and walking to the edge of her bed. She sat down and then stretched her back across the mattress, staring at the ceiling and taking a deep breath,

"I'll let you get some rest and call you when you're needed."

"I see how this relationship works." She growled sarcastically and looked up, only to see that he had disappeared. She grunted and slammed her face into her pillow, sighing loudly and hoping her unwanted guardian angel heard her words,

"Cas, you're such a jerk."

**.:=:.**

The room was quiet for the first time in the night, Rowan's breathing calm and collected as she slept under the warm covers of the motel bed. Her hand lied softly on her pistol under her pillow; the way she always kept when she was sleeping just in case a demon decided to visit her. A few cars passed the window every few hours, their headlights illuminating the room as they turned in the driveway.

Her phone rebelliously lit up and vibrated violently on the night stand next to her bed. It rumbled about on the hard wood and Rowan's eyes slowly opened, this time it did not startle her. Groaning, her pistol hand snatched it and her blurry blue eyes tried to make out the name that glowed back at her on the screen. Her eyebrows knitted and she tapped the answer button on her touch screen, lazily laying it on her ear as she closed her eyes sleepily into the pillow,

"Hello…?" Her voice managed to muscle out as she heard a familiar voice echo through the other end,

"_Rowan? It's Sam."_

"I know… what the hell do you want I'm trying to sleep?" She growled and Sam's voice became apologetic,

"_S-sorry… I just… I need your help with something." _Rowan sighed and her eyes opened to see another set of lights peeking through the curtains,

"Is this what my relationship with you guys is gonna be? Call me when you need me and throw me away when you're done?"

"_No! Of course not! It's just… we may not have known each other for long but I feel like you're the only one I can talk to about this."_

"About what?" She asked curiously and she heard him sigh on the other end, a slight pause on his part.

"_Dean." _Rowan flipped over on her back and stared at the ceiling, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes,

"Dean? Do I need to save him or something?"

"_You're close to Castiel, right? I need you to talk to him."_

"Well, you're going to have to tell me what the hell I need to do because if I call Cas and sit here just staring back at him with the same stupid look he gives me I'm going to punch you." Rowan warned, not happy that Sam had woken her up from her sleep. It was the second time the Winchesters had done so,

"_Well, you know now that Dean went to hell a few months ago, and he's going to hate me for telling you this… but when Dean was down there, he did some things…"_

"Things? What kind of things? He's not a demon is he?" Rowan's brow contorted in seriousness and Sam paused for a moment, making her heart throb. She didn't want to kill the Winchester,

"_No. Long story short, Alistair tortured him every single day on the rack and offered Dean the chance to avoid the torture if he would torture other souls. Finally, Dean couldn't take it anymore and agreed so Alistair took him under his wing." _Rowan leaned up and stared at the wall, her eyes narrowed in confusion. Her fingers gripped the phone tightly as she noticed the situation became a bit more serious,

"Dean tortured souls?"

"_Yeah…"_

"I didn't think he'd have something like that in him." She pulled the blankets off her legs and began to pace around the room,

"_Well, Castiel is about to turn the tides."_

"What do you mean?"

"_Cas has Alistair confined somewhere and he just came and kidnapped Dean. Cas is going to__** make**__ Dean torture Alistair for information… you can't imagine the pain Dean is harboring for torturing all those souls down in hell. If he goes through with this, I don't know what's going to happen to him after!" _Rowan stopped and stared through the crack of the curtains, seeing a few men walking through the parking lot suspiciously. She ignored them; all her attention was now focused on Sam's dire situation,

"You said Castiel wants him to torture for information… what's so important to Cas that put's Dean's humanity on the line?"

"_The angels. Someone is killing angels and they don't know who or what." _Rowan's eyes dropped to the floor and she ran a hand through her hair, her eyes confused from Sam's words. She turned around back towards her bed,

"Why wouldn't Castiel tell me?" She said more to herself than the younger brother on the other end of the phone,

"_I don't know, but I need you to talk some sense into him. He won't listen to me and it's only a matter of time before Dean caves and goes through with it! Cas isn't taking no for an answer."_

"I'll talk to him, but I can't guarantee anything."

"_Alright… thanks I appreciate it." _His voice was slightly relieved and Rowan's lips drew into a thin line,

"I'll call you back in a bit." She pulled the phone from her ear and ended the phone call, throwing the device onto her bed. Her hands rested down to her side and her lids closed over her eyes, her mind in deep concentration. She may not have known Dean and Sam for very long, but they served a higher purpose than she ever could in this world. They were the key to the apocalypse and she would be damned if she was going to let Castiel destroy Dean. With a deep breath and her connection wired, her muscles loosened and she tilted her heard.

"Castiel, I need to talk to you right now and it's very important. Please, I need you to drop whatever you're doing…" She clenched her hands into fists and waited for the sound of Castiel's beating wings to flood her ears. Her eyes opened and she saw no one and heard nothing. Her eyes narrowed annoyingly and she crossed her arms, "Cas? I know you can hear me."

A few more moments and still nothing.

"Alright then… if you won't come to me when I ask, then I'll just conjure up me a few demons and we'll have ourselves a little shoot out." She walked towards her backpack on the table in the room to grab the keys to her street bike. She was ready to gather supplies to perform the demon summoning spell,

"Don't do that." Castiel's rough voice stopped her in her tracks and she turned around, seeing him staring at her with the same hard look he always had. She saw a bit of worry in his eyes and bit her tongue, careful not to chew him out.

"What's going on Cas? Tell me the truth." Her voice held anticipation and Castiel averted his eyes to the floor, finding it easier to do so than stare into her piercing blue eyes. Rowan stepped towards him and grabbed the flap of his jacket gently, signaling that she wasn't going to fly off the hinges. Castiel looked back into her face, seeing sincerity, "I'm more concerned than mad. What's going on with the angels?" Castiel sighed and looked down at her hand gripping his jacket, then back to her,

"Someone is killing my brothers and sisters one after another… I can do nothing to stop it and I can't figure out who it can be."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her eyes narrowed in curiosity at her guardian angel,

"I was trying to protect you. I didn't want you getting involved because exposing you to whoever is destroying the angels means putting your life on the line and that is something I'm not willing to do."

"Even if that means destroying Dean's humanity?" She crossed her arms and stared at him hard with a disappointed pout. He took a deep breath and his eyes narrowed in wonder,

"How do you know about that?"

"Same place I found out about the angels… Sam called me." Castiel looked back to the ground and Rowan leaned towards him, catching his eye once again,

"Cas, you can't go through with this. You know what kind of danger you're putting Dean in."

"Like I told the Winchesters… I need you to understand the position I've been put in. I dragged Dean out of hell for his sole purpose of serving heaven and I haven't asked him for anything until now. He's the only chance we have in saving the angels."

"But you have to know this is wrong, even for heavens orders this is crossing the line." She argued, boring her bright eyes through him. He huffed and looked away, shaking his head and then looking back at Rowan,

"It's the only thing I can do to save my family." Rowan felt like she had been punched in the gut, staring at the turmoil that was eating away at Castiel's face. She knew there was nothing more important than family and she would have done anything to save hers. She felt for Cas and knew he was only doing it to spare anymore unwanted violence towards the angels. Rowan then shook her head and looked at the stained carpet below their feet, her mind deliberating quickly. Her hand trailed over her mouth and she turned around, walking away from him a few steps before stopping,

"Take me." She knew Castiel was staring at her confusingly through her back. She turned around to face him, "Take me and spare Dean. I'll go do your torture regiment with Alistair, just don't make Dean do it." Castiel stared at her in a bit of shock, shaking his head,

"No Rowan, I won't put you in that situation."

"Why not? Dean doesn't have power like mine."

"You're not strong enough. Your body won't be able to handle Alistair. He's too powerful; I couldn't even smite him with all that I had." Castiel's voice began to become harsher as he moved towards Rowan, "You will stay here until this is done. You are not to get involved and you will not put yourself in danger to draw me away. If you take a step out of this room I will send you so far away you won't know what to do with yourself." His stare was dangerous and it was the first time since she had been with Castiel that he had been so hostile towards her. His jaw was tightened and his hands balled into fists, "The Winchesters are not the only key to this war on earth. You remember your purpose."

With a blink of an eye, he disappeared from her sight and she let out her stammered held breath. She stared at the wall as if Castiel were still standing in front of her, deliberating on what to do. A part of her told her to stay in the room and heed Castiel's commands, but the rest of her wanted to leave and save Dean, even if that meant having to fight Castiel to get to him. She may have been an advocate for the angels but she had a different purpose on this earth the moment she was born: Save anyone she could. Her fingers were quick to find her cell phone on the bed and she redialed Sam's number in a matter of milliseconds. Hearing the ringing going through, she grabbed her backpack and flipped it over her shoulder,

"_Rowan, how'd it go?"_

"Not good. He didn't listen to me."

"_Well there goes plan B…" _His voice held disappointment and Rowan didn't blame him,

"Castiel threatened me that if I leave to help you and Dean he was going to send me away until this all blew over. But I say screw that; where are you?"

"_I'm in a motel in-" _Rowan all of a suddenly felt a hand wrap tightly around her heart and shove her back, slamming her into the wall. She gasped as the hand on her chest drug her up the wall and held her tight, clutching her beating heart and squeezing it more and more each time it tried to beat. Panic ensued in her head and her heart struggled to beat faster and faster until the pain became too unbearable. She clenched her eyes shut and heard Sam's frantic voice on the other end of the phone that lied helplessly on the floor.

"Sam!" She managed to choke out and felt another unknown entity clutch her thin throat, squeezing tightly to the point where she couldn't breathe. She clawed at the air as if it had a wrist, trying to rid herself on the suffocation and heartache that was, indeed, going to kill her in a matter of seconds. She gritted her teeth and gasped for air, letting out frantic cries of pain.

Her eyes opened immediately when she felt the carpet slam against her face, or the other way around. She couldn't tell at that exact moment, all she could feel was the intense, unbearable pain in her chest. Through the shadows of her room she saw a figure move and grab her arm, hoisting her to her feet and dragging her along. She closed her eyes tightly and when they reopened, she perceived bright lights around her and the smell of her motel room soon left her senses. She panted and looked up, seeing a tall figure through her blurry vision. Stepping back, she pressed her eyes shut and reopened them, her bright blue eyes now focused on the man standing in front of her,

"Sam?" Her disbelief was clear in her tone of voice as she stared at him in utter confusion. Her head flicked around as she took in the features of a new, brighter hotel room. Rowan ran a hand through her deep red hair, closing her eyes and gripping her head, "How the hell did I get here?"

"You're welcome." She looked over once hearing a familiar female voice, looking into the black eyes of none other than Ruby. Rowan straightened herself at the sight of the demon, narrowing her eyes and spitting out words as if they were poison,

"Never thought I'd be saved from a _demon…_Thanks…"

"Are you alright?" Her attention moved back to Sam and she observed the concern in his eyes. A twinge of pain in her chest made her flinch and she rubbed her skin,

"Yeah… I'm fine…"

"What the hell happened?" Sam's eyebrows drew in confusion and Rowan steadied her breathing, sitting down in a chair and hunching over. She rubbed the palms of her hands against her head,

"I don't know… I just…" She looked back up at Sam and sighed, "I hope it wasn't Castiel… it felt like someone grabbed onto my heart and was squeezing it until it exploded. But I couldn't see anyone in my room and I don't think Castiel can mentally do stuff like that."

"Maybe it wasn't him? Maybe it was whoever is after the angels?" Ruby vouched and Rowan looked over at her,

"That could be true… they could have listened in on you and Cas." Sam's voice made Rowan look to him and she sighed, shaking her head,

"Whatever… it's done now." She stood to her feet, "What's gonna happen now?"

"We go after Dean." Sam said plain and simple while walking towards the table in the middle of the room. Rowan looked over to the items that occupied the wooden space and narrowed her eyes, not noticing them before as she was more concerned about her whereabouts. A large map extended itself over the hardwood table with candles lit on all four ends.

"What's all this?" She raised an eyebrow while staring at the tall Winchester,

"How we're getting to Dean." She heard Ruby say as the female demon walked up next to her, her arms crossed while staring down at the items. Ruby grabbed a candle and looked to Rowan, "You might want to step back." Rowan stepped over towards Sam and gave him an unknown stare before hearing Ruby's Latin words roll off her tongue. She looked down and watched as the female demon began to light the map on fire,

"Are bisca de alfo tasces… e preas." The fire jumped in a perimeter around the map and burned intensely before them. The heat warmed Rowan's skin as she watched intently on the spell being performed, making mental notes on it as she could use it in her future. "A nee viat… noto." The fire erupted taller and taller and Sam looked over at Ruby with a bit of concern. Ruby stared back at him, her eyes black, but reassuring, "Relax… the fires our friend. Besides, the only part of the map we need is the _"Where's Dean?"_ part…" The map curled at the ends with ash as it burned away and Ruby took a deep breath, her voice stern, "Out." The flames disappeared without even a drop of smoke and the ashes lightly feathered to the floor, only a small piece of the map remaining on the table, untouched by the damaging inferno.

"There… Dean is there." Ruby said lightheartedly and Rowan and Sam stared at each other in slight awe. Rowan grabbed the ashy paper and stared at the information that had planted itself on the map. She handed it to Sam, "It's a good thing angels aren't concerned with hiding their dirty business. They're not used to be spied on I mean, who'd be stupid enough to try?" Ruby asked while staring at Rowan. Rowan narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, tilting her head at the demon,

"Angels don't have to worry about anyone spying on them because they know there's nothing out there that can interfere with them." Ruby scoffed and Rowan smiled triumphantly, "No one knows more about them than they do."

"Rowan, let's go we don't have any more time to waste." Rowan looked up to Sam and sighed, nodding her head,

"Let's hurry."

**.:=:.**

"You alright Sam?" Rowan could feel the tension in the car ride towards their destination. She looked up from the piece of map gripped in her fingers and he shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat,

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Please, you're an open book to me." Rowan smirked and shook her head, staring out the window as rain pelted it violently.

"I just hope we're not too late." Rowan looked back over to Sam, seeing his face turning from uncomfortable to broken. Rowan sighed to herself and looked back down at the map, then looking back up through the rapid movements of the windshield wipers as a street sign passed them by.

"There. That warehouse." She glanced back down at the piece of the map briefly to confirm her directions. The roaring engine of the Impala bellowed out as they pulled through the broken fencing of the dead warehouse, the tires rolling through the mud. Sam killed the engine and looked at Rowan, pausing for a moment,

"Thanks for helping me." Rowan's brows creased towards him and she stared into the gentle giant's face, nodding,

"Anything for a friend." She grabbed the door handle and shoved it open, stepping out into the cold air. Her breath formed into mist around her face as the wind picked up, the breeze causing her red locks to tickle her skin. Turning, she saw Sam step out and close the door quietly behind him, his face lost in the warehouse as he stared at it. "So, do I get Dean's gun?" She asked with a smirk, admiring the sawed off double barrel pistol she always saw Dean carrying. Sam shook his head and looked over at her confidently,

"We're not going to need any weapons." He stepped forward and marched quickly towards the warehouse, Rowan narrowing her eyes and taking no time to follow after him. The two hunters found a broken down door and walked into the establishment, their eyes straining to see through the darkness. Their feet carefully picked out the areas of the floor in which they stepped, their ears working in overdrive in compensation to their lack of eyepower.

"Did you hear that?" Rowan whispered and Sam stopped, staring back at her curiously. She held her breath and listened quietly for the sound once again, hearing loud thumping above them. Sam heard it as well and his face twisted in recognition,

"Something's happening."

"Stairs!" Rowan pointed and the two ran towards them, taking two steps at a time to dominate the rickety wooden stairs. Rowan struggled to keep up with Sam, knowing that the determination in saving his brother was driving him in being unstoppable. Sam shoved his foot against a locked door and it broke completely off the hinges, slamming heavily against the floor. Rowan stopped and stared around the room, seeing a table standing lonely in the middle of the room and chains hanging calmly from the ceiling.

"There!" Rowan called and ran towards an old rusty door, looking in the dirty window as her eyes widened. She saw Alistair gripping Castiel's neck tightly in his hand, his jaws moving and Castiel's eyes and mouth beginning to glow. She knew that he was using an angel exorcism spell and she shoved her shoulder against the door, desperately trying to save her angel friend.

"Move!" She looked behind her and saw Sam trudging towards the door. Stepping back, she watched as his foot connected with the door once again and the sheer velocity of his weight busted it open. Sam's eyes instantly found Alistair and he put his hand up, his face deep in cocnetration. Alistair slammed up against the wall and Sam slowly stepped in, Rowan watching in shock at what was unfolding beyond her eyes.

She shook her head and ignored Sam's intriguing movements, her eyes moving towards Castiel, who watched Sam in a daze. Rowan looked down and saw Dean, bloodied and battered, laying on the floor next to the giant, steel trap that Alistair had escaped from. Her feet moved under her and she knelt down next to Dean, placing her hands on the sides of his face lightly, "Dean? Can you hear me?" Out cold. Rowan could feel the broken bones in his jaw and watched his face begin to swell slowly, his skin turning purple and blue.

She heard Alistair choking out in pain and agony, looking over and seeing his face wicked with restraint. Sam continued to keep his arm extended out and his hand clawed at him as if he were gripping his heart and ripping it from his chest. "What the hell is he…?" Rowan whispered to herself.

"How are the demons killing angels!?" Sam shouted violently and Alistair looked at him hatefully, straining to say his words through Sam's hold,

"I… don't know!" He growled loudly and Sam clenched his fist shut, turning it in a circle. Alistair howled out in pain and struggled to face Sam, "It's… not us! Demons are not doing it…!" Sam shook his head,

"I don't believe you!"

"Lilith is not… behind this! She wouldn't ki-kill… seven angels!" Alistair managed to work his way through Sam's power and a wicked smile cross his face with pure hatred, "She would kill a hundred… a thousand!" Sam lowered his hand and Alistair panted violently, staring at the ceiling. He laughed to himself and looked to Sam,

"Oh go ahead… send me back if you can…" He mocked with his slithery voice and his pearly white teeth glistened into a smile. Sam smiled and stared back at Alistair with mockery,

"I'm stronger than that now… now I can kill!" Sam's hand shot back up towards Alistair and he pushed his hand out to touch him, closing his eyes to concentrate. Alistair choking out once again, gasping for air. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he shouted towards the ceiling, his bones illuminating stronger and stronger with each slow second that passed.

Rowan wasn't sure whether to be shocked or curious as she watched Sam as she was still knelt down next to Dean. Her eyes couldn't draw away as she watched Alistair explode with an intense light, his body falling to the ground in defeat. Sam panted and Rowan noticed the disturbed look that Castiel had exchanged with him. Blood seeped off Castiel's head and from his nose as he looked to Rowan, but she only turned to Sam, "He's knocked out cold. It feels like his jaws broken and he's definitely gonna have a nasty concussion... and Cas won't heal him." She looked over at Castiel, who immediately avoided her cold, icy stare.

"Let's get him to a hospital." Sam walked up to Dean and leaned down next to him. The two hunters grabbed his arms and hoisted him up, wrapping his arms around their necks. Rowan exchanged eye contact with Castiel, her eyes holding disappointment as she moved past him.

**.:=:.**

Sam leaned back in his cold leather chair, staring at Dean as he slept peacefully. His head rested on his fist and his foot bounced anxiously as he waited for his big brother to wake up. He was frustrated, annoyed, and restless, dwelling over the fact that Castiel had put Dean in this situation. He let it happen because of his negligence; some guardian angel he was.

His eyes flicked up when he heard a groan, looking over and seeing Dean's cheek beginning to twitch and his eyes moving impatiently under his eyelids. Sam leaned forward in his chair and put his hand on Dean's arm, seeing his eyes barely opening, but just enough to look at him. "Sam…?" His voice was deep and groggy from the drugs being pumped into his veins. Sam smiled and gripped Dean's arm,

"Hey buddy… how you feeling?" Dean groaned low in his throat and closed his eyes,

"Like shit." Sam nodded his head with understanding and Dean reopened his eyes, looking at his younger brother,

"What… what happened? How am I alive?"

"Don't worry about that right now… you're alive and that's all that matters." Sam said, pulling his hands to his lap and clasping them together. Dean looked forward at the wall,

"My throat itches." He coughed a couple times and hissed in pain, clenching his eyes shut. Sam's mouth drew into a thin line,

"They put an oxygen tube down your throat when you came in. When everything died down Rowan came in and healed up your chest so you could breathe on your own and-"

"Rowan's here…?" Dean cut off Sam, staring at him with drawn eyebrows. Sam nodded,

"She helped me come find you. I think she's uh… getting coffee or something." Sam leaned up and looked to the doorway, wondering where his red headed friend had run off to. He looked back to Dean and stood to his feet, "I'm gonna go talk to the doctor… you get some rest, you're gonna need it. I'll be back in a few." He reassured Dean with a soft smile and patted his brother's arm. Dean nodded softly and Sam slowly walked out of the room, into the hallway. He spotted the familiar dark red hair of Rowan and quickened his pace towards her. She noticed his presence and slowed down to a stop, a deep sigh escaping her lips,

"I tried calling Castiel, there's no answer. I even threatened my own life and he still didn't come… probably still crestfallen about the ass chewing you gave him." She took notice to Sam staring at the items in her hand and she quickly caught herself,

"Oh uh… here. I got you some coffee… hope you like the way I made it." She handed him the steaming cup and he nodded,

"Thanks. You didn't get yourself any?"

"No… coffee makes me sick." She laughed softly and Sam took notice to the large bouquet of flowers in her hand. He raised an eyebrow and smiled,

"Flowers?"

"Yeah, thought Dean would like 'em… seems like the type of guy."

"Think again." Sam sipped on his coffee cup and took the warm, perfectly brewed liquid into his mouth. There was a brief sense of relief as he sighed, "He's awake by the way… keep an eye on him while I go talk to the doctor?" Rowan nodded to the gentle giant,

"Of course. I'll try to do some more healing to. I hate how limited I am…" Her words trailed off the end of the sentence and she walked past Sam, patting his shoulder as she strutted by. She followed the white, repeating tiles down the hallway until she came back to Dean's room, slowing down into the doorway. She poked her head in and saw Dean lying poorly in the hospital bed, her feet stepping in quietly.

"Look what the cat drug in…" His voice was ragged and she stopped, watching his eyes open and stare at her. She smiled and walked towards the chair sitting next to the bed,

"You look pathetic." She joked while resting the flowers in her lap after she took her seat. She saw his eyes staring at the bouquet and she lifted it up, observing them in her hands, "Brought you some flowers." She shrugged and placed them in a designated holding bin on the desk. She looked back at his damaged face and leaned forward, watching him struggling to swallow whatever was in his mouth, "How's your chest?"

"Fine… it's getting a bit easier to breathe." He tried to shift in his uncomfortable bed and groaned in pain. Rowan stood to her feet and put her hand on his shoulder,

"Don't strain yourself… you're pretty beat up."

"I hate hospitals…" His eyebrows drew together annoyingly and he rolled his head over to the side of his pillow. He stared over at Rowan as she sat back down in her seat, "Thank you… for helping me." His voice was low so he wouldn't hurt his throat. Rowan smiled softly and nodded, leaning on her elbows on her knees,

"No problem… you Winchesters are starting to grow on me. But damn… you know how to get yourselves in trouble." She sighed and rested her head on her hand. Her smile slowly faded as she saw the disheartened look on Dean's face as he stared up at the ceiling. Rowan tilted her head curiously at Dean, "What's wrong, Dean?" Her voice was soft and velvety as it slithered into Dean's ears. His mouth drew into a thin line and he avoided eye contact with Rowan,

"I deserved this…" He mumbled and Rowan sat on the edge of her seat, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"How?" Dean was silent for a few moments and Rowan watched his bruised hand fiddle with the edge of his blanket. She looked back to his eyes and saw them glisten in the light of the lamp that shined in the room.

"I started everything… the sixty-six seals… the impending doom of the apocalypse… everything." He looked over to Rowan and saw the curiosity in her icy blue eyes, "I was the righteous man who shed blood in hell… that was the first seal… I broke it because I wasn't… I wasn't strong enough." He shut his eyes and leaned his head back on his pillow. Rowan caught herself before the look of surprise decided to eat at her face. She sighed internally and grabbed Dean's hand, studying his bloodied fingers. Dean looked over at her curiously as he felt a warm sensation crawling through the bones in his hand,

"You can sit here and blame yourself all you want… but the truth is, there could have been another righteous man to come along and break that seal after you. Castiel would have still pulled you out of hell and you would still be here right where you are now." Her eyes met his and she placed his hand back on the bed, "You're pretty damn tough to me… surviving Alistair the way you did. I say you take what you learned and use it against your enemy."

"Oh yeah…? Like what…?" Rowan shrugged her shoulders and she looked up at the heart monitor that murmured softly by his bedside. The beeping of his heartbeat was steady,

"The demons want Lucifer out; they want to watch this world burn and us along with it. Dangle the fact that you have the apocalypse in the palm of your hand right in front of their faces. Make them suffer, kill them all, and start all over again. Don't let this get to you now… we have a job to do, no matter how hard it is, we have an obligation to fight for the weak. We were chosen, Dean, and I don't believe in that destiny shit as much as the next guy… but we gotta do what we gotta do to survive and conquer." Dean sighed and stared at the wall in front of him, taking her words in one by one. Rowan hoped she had hit home while watching his Adam's apple bob in his throat and his eyes close.

"Thanks…" He mumbled and Rowan smiled, placing her hands on the arm of her chair and lifting herself to her feet. Dean's eyes narrowed as she leaned over him and placed her hands on each side of his face. The sincerity in her eyes pierced his soul as he felt warmth crawling through his skin,

"Wh-what're you doing…?"

"Shh…" She breathed and a smile crossed her face, her thumbs caressing his cheeks as she tried to keep him calm, "I'm going to heal you the best I can so you don't feel any more pain. Just close your eyes and don't fight it… you'll be out of here by tomorrow afternoon."

"But Rowan-" He took a sharp breath and his head sunk into the pillow, his eyes clenching shut as he felt the euphoric feeling of her power sucking into his head. Rowan concentrated all she could to the palm of her hands, watching as his bones illuminate under his skin and light beginning to glow from his mouth and eyelids.

Finally experiencing the effects of the overbearing power on her body, Rowan closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She felt the tickling sensation of blood trickling from her eye and dripping off her chin, taking a deep breath to gather herself. His wounds were extensive, but she was willing to spare his pain much more than her own, even if that meant overusing her powers.


	7. Chapter 7

Rowan hummed along with the tune of an old classic song that bellowed through the windows of the Impala. The sun beat down on her tan skin and glistened against her dark red hair, making men, young and old, stare at her beauty as they passed by. She smiled when she heard car horns echoing at her, but only kept her eyes closed under the thickly rimmed, black ray sunglasses that protected her face. With her hands behind her head, she lied on the trunk of the Impala, one leg bouncing on her other knee in anticipation. She wore a black tank top with tattered jean shorts, complete with a pair of her knee high motorcycle boots.

In all honesty, she could pull off being a pin up model for a car magazine with the help of the sexy black finish of the Chevy she lied on.

"Who the hell gives you the right to lay on my car?" Her ears picked up the voice of none other than Dean Winchester and she pulled up the sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, her deep blue eyes staring into his curious face. She noticed the music had faded from the air as well. She was glad to see his face unbroken and back in good health; he was no fun when he was all beat up. Her body leaned up on the car and her lips smiled heartily,

"Good to see you on your feet, Deany Weenie." She slid off the car with ease and stood in front of him, staring through her sunglasses. Lifting them up and narrowing her eyes from the stinging sunlight, she watched Dean's eyes trail over her for a moment,

"If I weren't still feeling like crap I'd have to take advantage of this situation. Maybe take you to dinner or something." Rowan rolled her eyes and walked past him, brushing her shoulder against the sex crazed man. She watched as Sam walked up to the car and stuffed a fatty stack of papers in his jacket pocket,

"So, do we have to drive you back to the motel you came from?" She leaned up against the car and stared out in the parking lot, taking in the sunlight for the first time in days. She looked over at Sam and shrugged her shoulders,

"Nah, I think I can walk. I'd like to take advantage of this situation." She flashed a flirty wink at Dean and he smirked,

"Walk? How close were you?" Sam asked and Rowan looked to him with thoughtful eyes,

"Uh… what state are we in?"

"Oklahoma." Rowan pursed her lips and nodded her head slowly. Tilting her head she looked up at the tall brother, squinting her eyes from the sun above his head,

"I was in Nevada." Sam's eyebrows drew together in confusion and Dean took over the conversation,

"You're going to walk to Nevada?" His voice was doubtful as he stared at the red head and Rowan smiled, snickering to herself. She sighed and looked up at the sky, leaning her head back on the Impala's roof,

"I want to enjoy this weather… everywhere I go it's either rainy, cloudy, or stormy." She leaned her head over to face Dean and she shrugged, "I'm gonna start walking and then when I'm finished I'll just call Cas."

"Well you can tell Cas when you see him that he can blow me." Dean's voice was frustrated and annoyed, making Rowan stare at him curiously. She scoffed,

"You'd like that, wouldn't you sicko?"

"What if he doesn't come to you? We can give you a ride, we owe you that much." Sam said and Rowan stood upright on her feet, turning to face both the boys with hands on her cocked hips.

"I'll make him… he can't stay butthurt for too much longer. It'll interfere with _"God's Orders"_." She quoted with her fingers sarcastically. She looked over to Dean as he pulled out the clothing she showed up in, staring at the leather half jacket she always wore. Glancing at her and seeing the patience in her eyes, he tossed her the clothing and she caught it with cat like expertise.

"Stop dressing like me, by the way." He mocked and Rowan shook her head annoyingly,

"I should've healed everything but your jaw so you couldn't talk."

"Thanks for coming to help… again." Sam vouched and Rowan's eyes flicked to him. She smiled charmingly and nodded,

"Yeah well… if I had a nickel for every time someone called me to save their asses I'd leave the family business and buy a desolate island somewhere to live out my days surrounded by hot guys in banana hammocks." She breathed and Dean shook his head, trying not to smile at the ridiculous dream. Sam laughed and Rowan lifted her hand, waving to them. "It was short and sweet once again, Winchesters. Until next time." She swiveled around on her motorcycle boots heel, walking across the parking lot towards the sidewalk of the busy town. The boys watched her glide away and Dean found his eyes drawn to her hourglass figure. He let out a disappointed sigh and his mouth drew into a thin line,

"Why haven't I hit that yet?" He asked, looking up to his younger brother with wonder in his eyes. Sam swallowed a dry lump in his throat and shook his head slightly, not knowing exactly what to say,

"I don't know. Frankly, I don't think you could get her in a bed. She's pretty damn stubborn and you seem to annoy her."

"Oh come on Sam… I'm like Hugh Hefner when it comes to that stuff!"

"You wish…" Sam pushed himself off the car and that was Dean's cue to get into the driver's seat. He was done with this hospital and this town; he just wanted to get out of that hellhole and hit the road.

The roaring engine of the Impala growled to life and Dean revved the engine for just the fun of it. He smiled and put her in gear, pulling out of the parking lot of the hospital and following the signs to the highway. A flash of red caught his eye and he watched Rowan walking down the sidewalk with her clothes rolled up in a ball under her arm. He gazed at her as he drove by and Rowan knew he was; she threw her hand up in a wave as he passed and a gleaming smile had crossed her angelic face.

He didn't know how to thank her for the things she had done in the past few times they had met. She was different than anyone he had ever come across and there was something about her that he liked. Sure, she annoyed him to no end with her cocky, sarcastic, and snooty attitude, but it felt good to have her around. She was alone anyways and he and Sam could protect her when Castiel couldn't.

He just couldn't bring himself to ask her to join them on their travels.

"Hey guys."

"Jeez!" Dean jumped in his seat and the car swerved into the other lane of traffic, horns blaring as Dean had almost had a head on collision with a minivan. He gripped the steering wheel and quickly brought the Impala back into its proper lane, breathing heavily through clenched teeth from the sheer adrenaline pumping through his body.

"Ruby!?" Sam was equally scared by Dean's sudden jolt that almost landed them back into the hospital. Dean stared through the rearview mirror at the demon, seeing her staring back.

"What the hell!?"

"What?" She asked curiously and her eyes narrowed at the older brother. Dean rolled his eyes and stared back at the road,

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked and Ruby looked to him, taking a deep breath,

"I know that Dean just got out of the hospital but I have news on Lilith. Well… someone working for her..." Dean and Sam exchanged quick glances and Sam looked back at her while Dean continued to pay attention to the road, listening intently.

"Who is it? What's going on?"

"It's one of Lilith's lieutenants. Her name is Eleanor and she's trying to break a seal."

"Where at?" Dean asked and looked at her from the rearview mirror. Ruby looked into his eyes from the backseat,

"Burlington, Iowa. You guys have to hurry the seal is almost broken."

"What is she doing to break it?" Sam asked and Ruby sighed,

"Killing unborn children." Dean's eyes became hectic and he looked back at her briefly, then back at the road. Sam's eyes flickered in concern and he looked back, only to see that Ruby had disappeared. Sam looked over to Dean, who had already turned in the direction towards Iowa. Dean's face was hard with determination and he pushed his car to the point where Sam thought the engine would explode.

"These bastards are going way too far…"

**.:=:.**

Rowan's boots thudded harmoniously against the concrete ground as she stepped along. Her eyes glared through the thickly rimmed sunglasses planted on her face. Her skin warmed from the sun of the Oklahoma sky, not even a cloud could be seen for miles. Her face wore a small smile, this being the first day in a long time in which she was having a good time and felt worth in the world. She already missed the Winchester's and arguing with Dean, but they were long gone by now and hours had passed. She didn't have a phone and she didn't have her bike as they were both stuck back at the motel where she once dwelled.

She hummed a tune low in her throat and continued down the sidewalk that quickly turned to dirt road. She walked aimlessly as an old highway came into view, loosing herself in the sweet humming of her music and the endless plains of grass and crops that stretched for miles. It was so beautiful, where she was, and she wished she could appreciate the beauty of the country better than she usually could. She just didn't have the time these days with all the work she came across and the orders she received from Castiel.

She wasn't much for authority, but after everything Cas did for her and bringing her back from the verge of death was something she owed him greatly. He may have been an asshole angel who didn't know the difference from right and wrong, but to her, he was just good 'ol Castiel who needed a few lessons on _"People Skills"._ She was doing what she could to help him to make up for his angelic hospitality.

"Hello, Rowan."

"Dear Jesus!" Rowan almost jumped out of her skin as Castiel suddenly appeared in front of her. Her legs had fallen out from underneath her and her rump met with the dirty road below her. A soft wind blew through the middle of nowhere and caressed the burning red hair from her face.

"My apologies…" She felt his hand on her arm and the warmth of the glowing sun escaped her skin. She opened her eyes and stared around the darker remnants of her motel room. Her head turned to look back at Castiel, seeing the disruption boring out of his blue eyes into hers. She composed herself and tossed her dirty clothing on her bed, taking a seat on the semi comfortable mattress.

"Thanks." She mumbled and Castiel nodded his head. He was unfocused as he stared at the wall, his eyes narrowing and his eyebrows drawing into a look of frustration and wonder, just as it always had. Rowan sighed and leaned on her side on the bed, resting her head on her hand,

"Did you find out who was killing the angels?"

"Yes…" He turned around grudgingly and walked to the window, staring out into the empty parking lot. Rowan leaned back up and stared at Cas, feeling the unease he held in his core. She saw his head bow towards the ground, "It was Uriel… he betrayed us." Rowan stood to her feet warily and walked towards him confusingly. Sure, she didn't like Uriel, but he was an angel and he was one of Castiel's greatest friends. "And… he tried to kill you." Castiel turned around hallway to face her, his eyes glowing with hindrance. Rowan's hand brushed over her chest involuntarily as she remembered the intense pain of Uriel's hand clutching onto her heart.

"I knew he hated me… but to go against heaven…?"

"He listened in on our conversation… found where you were and tried to kill you until you managed to escape. I knew you had gone to Sam and I knew you would be safe with him. I should have been more cautious. If that demon didn't whisk you away when she did… your blood would be on my hands." His eyes glanced back down at the floor and Rowan instantly felt the brooding sadness in his head. Rowan's head tilted and her empathy went out to the angel,

"Cas, you shouldn't be beating yourself up over it. There's nothing you could have done."

"You don't know that." His head flicked up and he stared back at her with doubt. Rowan sighed and ran a hand through her hair, thinking of something to say.

"You know Cas… I'm here for you if you need to talk about anything. I know you angels aren't much for conversing about the shit that's going on and trying to get the demons off your chest, but you don't have to hold anything back from me. I'm your friend and I'm here to help you and frankly… you're the only one I really have left." Castiel stared at her with a far off look. He didn't understand this woman and why she was so nice and considerate towards him. Dean never was and often scolded him for the wrongs he had made. Although she was a firecracker and he always grew frustrated by her reckless actions, he was always curious about what really made her tick.

"Your words are kind." He complimented and Rowan smiled, turning around and walking towards the mini fridge in her room. "Yeah well… I was always the one that cheered everyone up." She pulled out a small bottle of whiskey and popped open the sealed cap. She stared at the brown alcohol with a dire crave for it to hit her mouth,

"It's been so long old friend." She whispered with a smile at the whiskey bottle, putting the rim to her lips and tipping her head back. She sucked in a mouthful of the liquor and the warmth of the whiskey flooded her mouth and drained down along with her throat. She looked back at Cas and stared at the curiosity in his eyes, smiling and walking towards him. Her hand extended the whiskey bottle towards it and he looked down at the deep brown liquid in interest for the first time.

Cas pulled it from her fingers and stared at it for a few moments before ramming the spout into his mouth and tipping his head back. Rowan's eyebrows knitted in shock as she watched him chug the large bottle without letting up for a single breath. The liquor slipped down his throat one after another and it disappeared from view into one final drink. Castiel disappointingly tore the bottle from his lips and looked at the empty glass canister, letting out a burp in his throat.

Rowan couldn't help but smile and laugh at what just unfolded in front of her eyes. "Wow… I uh…"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to consume it all." He handed Rowan the bottle and she looked at him amusingly before tossing it in the trash can. Castiel tilted his head and placed his hand over his stomach, "There's a strange tingling sensation in my abdomen."

"Don't worry that'll go away in about twenty minutes." She waved off and turned around to her lonely backpack on the floor. Grabbing the handle, she yanked it up and placed it on the table, rummaging around in it.

"I didn't come here to share spirits with you, unfortunately."

"Hm? So what did you come here for?" She was too occupied with her task at hand to look at her angel friend. She pulled out a shirt and smelled it, grunting and tossing it on the bed, returning to the backpack. Castiel walked up behind her and stopped only feet from his human companion. His lips drew into a thin line,

"I gathered information from heaven and thought you would have the right to know about it. I would rather you hear it from me than the Winchesters once they catch wind of her scent, which won't be too long." Rowan narrowed her eyes and her hands froze. She stood upright at stare at the stained wallpaper on the wall, tilting her head. Turning around, her eyes granted Castiel to give her the information he was holding and he returned her gaze with narrowed his eyes, "It's your sister… she walks the earth."

**.:=:.**

"Why is it that all the demons we find have to be cute girls?" Dean asked Sam, who stood behind him humbly while watching his brother. Dean got no answer from Sam and turned his attention back towards the demon strapped down to a chair. He tilted his head while twirling his demon knife in his fingers, a charming smirk on his face.

The demon woman, Eleanor, sat ruefully in the chair, blood dripping from the cuts on her vessels skin. Her long blonde hair stuck to her face and her hazel eyes darted back and forth from the knife to Dean's face. She panted from the pain that riddled through her body and gritted her teeth as Dean's hand latched onto her neck, pressing the blade up against it.

"Where is Lilith you demon bitch?" Eleanor's face twisted as she tried to pull her neck away from the knife, but Dean only grabbed a handful of hair on the back of her head to disable her.

"We know you've been trying to break a seal." Sam's voice was stern and Eleanor's eyes flicked over to him. She choked and blood erupted from her lips when she felt the blade of the demon knife sinking into her gut. Screaming out in pain Dean yanked the knife out of her and stepped back, grabbing a dirty rag and rubbing the blood off the steel. Eleanor stared up at him and couldn't help but smile while leaning her head back,

"I didn't think you'd take those skills Alistair gave you and actually use them." Dean stared at her with a hard look, his eyes narrowing as her words caught him a bit off guard. He didn't know this woman or a demon named Eleanor. Sure, he met a couple demons down in hell that weren't like the rest, but there was no way they could get out.

"Sam, hand me the holy water." Sam didn't hesitate and turned around, grabbing a large jug of holy water and handing it to his brother. Dean took it with haste and latched onto Eleanor's chin, opening her mouth wide and dumping the holy water down her throat. He stepped back and watched her thrash and gasp for air as she was drowning on the holy water. But both Dean and Sam exchanged glares with each other confusingly as her skin did not sizzle as if acid were eating it away.

Eleanor managed to spit out whatever holy water left that dwelled in her throat, coughing hectically and leaning down in the chair. Her eyes stared at the spray painted devil's trap on the floor and she let out a grunt, looking up when she heard Dean and Sam speaking in hushed whispers.

"Sam… I need you to do this for me."

"What? You mean use my power…?" Sam asked a bit shocked and Dean's face was hesitant, but he managed to nod. He wasn't crazy about the idea but it was the only way for them to track down Lilith and stop the seal from being broken.

"For some reason… the demon punishment isn't working much on her beside the demon knife. She's a tough egg to crack and she's not some low level demon that'll break easy. Your mojo might be the only thing we have in finding Lilith." Sam sighed heavily and rubbed a hand down his face, contemplating with a decision. It was weird for him to hear Dean ask something so demanding from him when Dean didn't even like the fact that he had the power. But he could tell his brother was desperate at this point in time.

With a disappointed sigh, he moved past Dean and stopped just outside the large devils trap, staring down at the blonde woman. She grunted and looked up to him curiously, wondering what exactly he was going to do to her.

"Sam Winchester… Dean's told me so much about you." She whispered only for Sam's ears to hear. He narrowed his eyes and lifted his arm outright, watching as her eyes widened and her chest straightened out. Eleanor held her breath as she felt his invisible hand clutch onto her soul and squeeze tightly. Her back slammed into the chair and she stared up at the ceiling, gasping for air as her body began to tremor.

"Where is Lilith?" Eleanor struggled to look back at him and she managed to work through his tight grip,

"I-I don't… know! I'm not working for… h-her!" Her voice was strained and Sam clutched his hand tighter into a fist, Eleanor letting out a scream as if he had just plunged a knife into her chest. Sam softened his clenched hand and gave her a chance to breathe, Eleanor taking the chance and swallowing a large gasp of air. Sam's voice held warning,

"You were trying to break a seal don't tell me that you're not working directly under her!" He tightened his fist and twisted it in the air, Eleanor letting out another scream and tossing her head to the side, feeling the burning sensation of Sam's power in her core. She gritted her teeth and strained her neck to look at him,

"I was-p-protecting the seal…!" She shouted and Sam's eyes narrowed as he loosened his grip. Eleanor panted and struggled to breathe, Sam staring at the bloody and battered demon before him as she shook with agony. He felt Dean walk up behind him and he glanced over his shoulder, seeing the hateful glance he was throwing at her.

"We have to ice her Sam. She doesn't know anything about Lilith." A hard lump of air slid down Sam's throat as he continued to stare at Eleanor as her head shot up at Dean's words. Her eyes found Sam's and they pleadingly shook with anguish, but Sam heeded Dean's words and closed his eyes, concentrating as his power heightened and the room began to softly shaking. Eleanor's face shot up towards the ceiling as she felt the immense burning pain blowing up in her stomach and creeping up towards her chest. She let out a loud cry and her fingernails dug into the handle of the chair as she struggled to try and dull the pain. There was no hope as she felt her bones lighting up and blackness taking over her eyes.

The door erupted from its hinges and Sam felt a sharp pain in his stomach that knocked him back, disabling his power. He felt an elbow slam in his face and he fell to the floor, looking up in a blur to see a flash of red.

Dean whipped out his pistol and pointed it but the assailant knocked it out of his wrist before he had a chance to fire. A hard boot slammed into his chest and he stumbled back, his body knocking against the wall behind him before shoving over the table where his demon torturing instruments lied. He looked up to see a fist connecting with his face and yet another fist smashing into his ribs. Struggling to gain a breath in his throat, Dean fell to his knees and held his throbbing side, gritting his teeth and looking up when he heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking. His eyes met with the barrel of his own pistol and he swallowed a stubborn lump down his throat, looking past the gun to see a pair of familiar icy eyes. "Rowan…?" Dean voiced and he heard Sam grunt, watching her eyes look over at him and her hand point her own gun at Sam's unsuspecting face. He was equally surprised to see her standing in front of him with a pistol pointing at him quite menacingly. She looked back at Dean, whose eyes were hard and detested towards her.

"You bitch…" He felt his cheek throbbing from her surprisingly hard fist and she only continued to stare at him. He saw her apologetic eyes narrow and Dean shook his head, "What? You working with the demon bitch now? Following your precious little angel's orders to bring on the apocalypse? You do realize that's all they want and care about, right?" He watched her eyes avoid his and he couldn't help but bring on a smirk, "I should've known we couldn't trust a whore like you." Rowan's face grew angry and she stared back down at Dean, pressing the barrel of his gun in between his eyes,

"Would you do this if your brother were the one sitting in that chair?" Her voice was serious and hurt at the same time as she stared blankly down at the Winchester. Dean's face went from tough to confused as he stared at the sincerity in her eyes. She huffed and shoved her foot against his chest, knocking him back onto the floor.

Rowan swiveled around on her heel and quickened towards Eleanor, rubbing the toe of her boot against the spray painted devils trap. The paint rubbed off onto her boots tip, breaking the circle, and Rowan pulled her knife from the sheath on her belt. The ropes snapped under the sharp pressure of the blade and Eleanor's hands dropped over the side. Rowan placed a hand on each of her bloody cheeks, pulling her face up to hers,

"Ellena…?" She shook her head softly, hoping that it wasn't too late to save her. "Ellena? It's me…" Rowan spoke softly and her held breath finally escaped her lips when she saw the bright hazel eyes of her sister's host open, staring back at her tiredly. Suddenly, her eyes shot open at the sight of Rowan and her eyebrows quivered weakly as she tried to contemplate on the situation. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, watching as Rowan's eyes began to water,

"Rowan? Is that really… really you?" Rowan laughed and smirked, nodding her head as a tear managed to plunge down her cheek. Ellena jumped out of her seat and wrapped her bloody arms around her older sister, knocking her back a couple steps. Rowan's arms took her sister in and she clutched Ellena tightly as if someone was trying to drag her away. Tears began to drip from both the sisters' eyes,

"I can't believe it's really you…" Rowan drew back and stroked the blonde hair of Ellena's host, smiling heartily and sniffling as she tried to suck in her tears. She looked back at Dean and Sam, who had gotten to their feet and stared at the two sisters confusingly.

"Rowan, what's going on?" Sam asked confusingly, not making any sudden movement in fear that the red headed woman would gun him down.

"Follow me and I won't hesitate to plant my bullets in your kneecaps. " She warned and Rowan grabbed Ellena's arm, pulling her out of the room quickly and tossing Dean's pistol back at him before leaving. Rowan's reunion with her sister was short and sweet and she wanted to dwell on it longer, but she had to get Ellena out of there before Dean and Sam did something stupid.

She burst through the old warehouse door with the injured Ellena, who struggled to keep up with her older sister. Rowan looked over to her awaiting street bike and then turned back to Ellena, recoiling at the sight of all the cuts and bruises on her skin. "Beam yourself to the Marty Hotel on the other side of town. I'll meet you over there."

"What about Dean and Sam?"

"They tried to kill you, El… leave them be." Ellena softened at the sound of her old nickname and nodded. Rowan blinked and opened her eyes to see Ellena had already disappeared from sight. She glanced up at the second level of the warehouse where she had rescued her sister, clenching her jaw when she thought about Dean and Sam. Not wasting any more time there, she ran through the dirt gravel parking lot and rammed her bike helmet on her head, starting the engine as it roared to life.

**.:=:.**

Rowan pulled into the parking lot of the designated motel and pulled into a parking spot, shutting off her headlights and the bike's groggy engine. She slid off the seat and pulled her helmet off, looking around the parking lot for any sign of her sister. "I already got a room." Rowan turned around, slightly startled at Ellena's sudden appearance as her sister held up a room key. Rowan's eyes narrowed when she saw there were no blood, no cuts, and no bruising left on her skin. Ellena tossed her the key and Rowan caught it expertly, staring at the room number on the small piece of plastic hanging from the ring. She glanced back at the unfamiliar face of her sister's vessel and then turned around towards a set of stairs, walking up them and finding the designated door.

The room was large and homey with two beds this time instead of one. Rowan smiled and closed her eyes, walking in and setting her large backpack down on the bed. Sighing in relief she turned around as Ellena shut the door to the room, looking back at her sister. Rowan had so many questions for her once-thought dead sister, "I never thought I'd see you again…"

Rowan brushed her bangs out from in front of her face, her eyes beginning to water once again. Ellena smiled and walked up to her, "Same here." The two sisters embraced once again, feeling the bliss of their reunion finally hitting them. Rowan pulled back and stared at Ellena's unfamiliar face,

"So… you're a demon." Ellena's eyes dropped and her face saddened with a nod,

"Yeah… I am." Rowan let out a disheartened sigh and closed her eyes. Rowan quickly swept all the negative thoughts out of her head, wanting this to be a happy occasion and not just a sad one. She smiled and crossed her arms, staring at the vessel her sister took over. She put a hand to her chin,

"So… what's this?"

"What do you mean?"

"This? Who the hell are you possessing?" Ellena looked down at her body and shrugged her shoulders. She slapped her hands against her thighs and looked back up at Rowan,

"I don't know… she was a homeless drug addict and I thought I'd take something that had nothing rather than someone that had something." Rowan rolled her eyes and shook her head,

"Even turning into a demon hasn't changed you a bit. Always thinking of the less fortunate... we're gonna have to get you your old body back. This thing is just not going to work." Ellena's eyebrows drew together and her eyes narrowed,

"What do you mean my old body? You didn't burn it?" Rowan shook her head and stared back at her sister with carelessness. Ellena scoffed,

"Are you serious!? You were supposed to give me a hunters funeral not bury me in some ditch!"

"Yeah well I couldn't bring myself to burn my sisters destroyed corpse after the way you left me. Glad I didn't because now you're back." Ellena shook her head in disapproval and chewed on the inside of her lip annoyingly.

"Okay then smart one. If my body is as mangled and destroyed from the hellhounds as you say it is, how the hell am I going to repossess it? Not to mention the decay it's gone through in a year and a half! I don't have the strength to fix it!" Rowan only smiled cockily at her sister's scolding and laughed. Ellena growled and stared at her, waiting for an explanation,

"Your body will be fixed in no time. Don't worry about that."

"And how exactly is that going to happen? Come on Roe, I'm curious…" Ellena's attitude grew irritated and Rowan rolled her eyes. As if on cue, Ellena's face grew confused when she heard the sound of beating wings radiate through the room. Rowan looked past Ellena in recognition and Ellena turned around, startled by the sudden appearance of a man clad in a light tan trench coat.

"Hello Ellena." His voice was scruffy as he addressed the younger sister, Ellena staring at him with wide eyes as she began to perceive the man's true face. Words fumbled on the tip of her tongue and her fear stricken eyes couldn't leave the demanding blue orbs of his own.

"You… you're… how…?" Rowan snickered to herself and walked past Ellena, planting her hand on Castiel's shoulder and leaning on him,

"Ellena, meet Castiel."

"He's… he's an angel." Rowan nodded and observed the shock stricken face of her little sister. As if she were a child, Rowan smiled,

"Yesss! He is an angel, good job!"

"I only heard rumors in hell… I didn't think that they were, you know, actually real."

"Yes, I am quite real." Castiel stated while staring at Ellena, still sitting on the floor. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes curiously at the young demon,

"Your face…"

"What about it?" Rowan asked while staring at the angel, still leaning on his shoulder. Castiel looked to her,

"Look at her true face. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before." Rowan looked down at Ellena and stared for a few moments, concentrated her power to her eyes. Slowly, Ellena's true demon face appeared and Rowan's lips parted in surprise. It wasn't anything close to the other demons faces she seen over the past few months, and actually, it was quite beautiful. Demons faces were always twisted, contorted, and maimed but Ellena's face drew many questions in Rowan's mind.

"You're sure she's a demon Cas?"

"Sam's power worked on her, didn't it?" He asked matter-o-factly and Rowan nodded. Rowan looked over to Castiel,

"But that face… it's not demonic."

"I sense no trace of her human soul. She is most definitely a demon I just… don't know how to explain it."He stared back at the little sister and Ellena quickly got to her feet. Her eyes found Rowan's

"What the hell is going on? How can _you_ see my real face?" Ellena was stern as she looked at her older sister, hoping Rowan's answer to her next question responded differently than she hoped. "Are you an angel?" Rowan snorted and scratched her cheek with her finger, laughing to herself. Ellena grew a bit confused and anxious,

"No, no, no… I wish I was but I'm not. It's a really long story, actually."

"I gave Rowan a portion of my own righteous power and saved her from the verge of death. She now aids me against the looming apocalypse as my soldier and is an important supporter of heaven." Castiel quickly explained and Ellena looked to him, disbelief flooding in her eyes. She looked back to Rowan, who only shrugged,

"Yeah, what he said."

"Verge of death? What the hell did you do!?" Rowan groaned and looked at Castiel,

"Choose your words wisely next time. Ellena kind of overreacts when she hears about my reckless actions. She gets more annoyed with it almost as much as you do."

"My apologies." Ellena rubbed her head and whimpered, looking around and then sitting down on the bed. She rested her face in the palm of her hands,

"There's too much to take in at one time…" She groaned and Rowan walked over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed with her younger self.

"For now… let's get you back in your old body, okay? I mean, we'll take one step at a time and I know we have a lot to talk about." Rowan rubbed Ellena's back and she sighed, resting her head on her hand. Ellena nodded and leaned back up,

"Alright… let's do it." Rowan looked up at Castiel, who stood over them and watched them intently,

"Cas, you remembered where I buried her, right?" Castiel gave a slow nod and Rowan stood up next to him,

"Can you take us there? Heal her body so she's able to possess it?"

"Of course."

Cold air washed over Rowan and Ellena's skin, their eyes opening to see dark forestry all around them. Rowan looked around at the foggy trees, suddenly remembering exactly where they were. Her eyes immediately found the old wooden cross of Ellena's grave sticking out of the ground. Walking towards it instinctively, she stopped next to Castiel, who stood over it and stared down into the ground.

"Rowan… we're in Montana, aren't we?" Rowan looked over her shoulder at Ellena with a nod, prosperity eating away at Ellena's face.

Castiel snapped his fingers and the ground rumbled below their feet, making Rowan's legs begin to wobble. Slowly, Ellena's coffin rose from the ground with a beam of light glaring through the mound of dirt that crumbled around the old wooden casket. Finally, the ground stopped shaking and Rowan watched as Castiel glided over towards the head of the coffin. He opened the top and threw it to the ground, staring down at the mutilated face of Ellena's old body. Castiel tilted his head and extended his hand out to her forehead, resting it across her pale skin.

In the blink of an eye, his power restored the familiar features of the younger sister to how she looked before the hellhounds got a hold of her. "It is done." Castiel looked back at Rowan as she approached quickly, her eyes staring into the old casket and seeing her broken sister well again. She smiled and noticed Ellena had walked up and stared down at her body blissfully, putting her hand down on her old body's head of hair.

"I thought I'd never see myself back in this body again." She smiled and looked up to Castiel with thankful eyes,

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome. I gather you can take it from here?" Castiel stared over at Rowan, who nodded.

"Thanks Cas, I owe you one."

"No you don't." He disappeared from sight and Rowan looked back to Ellena. She smiled, "Well? Do you want me to look away why you do this or what?"

Black smoke emerged from Ellena's blonde haired vessel and it floated around the sky above Rowan and Ellena's true body. Rowan watched curiously as the smoke funneled into Ellena's body and her back arched from the sudden impact. Everything went silent and Rowan stared down at Ellena's body, waiting for some type of life to erupt from her sister. "Boo!" Rowan jumped back as her sister lurched up from the coffin, scaring her out of her wits. Rowan's heart thumped against her sternum and she took a deep breath in a gasp, growling and staring daggers at Ellena, who laughed at her sister's reaction.

"You bitch…" Rowan mumbled as she watched Ellena jump out of the coffin heartily. She stretched her arms and twirled her wrists, looking at her hands and wincing when she saw her nasty, tattered clothing clinging to her body.

"He could've fixed my clothes too… ugh, I was dead in these. So gross…" She avoided touching her clothing and looked over to Rowan. Her older sister nodded and looked over her body, not seeing any scars, scratches, or even one little defect left on her innocent skin.

"Looking good… Cas did a good job."

It was all so much to take in at one time for Rowan. She was so alone for such a long period of time that it was hard to believe. Her sister was _alive_, if you call being a demon alive and standing in front of her in her original body. It was the face she knew so well and grew up with; Rowan almost felt like crying again. Her eyes scanned over her little sister's features, looking at them one at a time, feeling like she was staring at her younger self. Ellena was only two and a half years younger than Rowan and they were far from twins. But their features told everyone that they were definitely more than family. Ellena had glistening red hair, only a few shades lighter than Rowans, and it was a long and wavy, extending down her back. She had the same icy, bright blue eyes as her sister, but the innocence they held could make a priest drown in tears. She had a beautiful pearly smile that could light up the darkest room and make the saddest person smile. If you looked up the term _beautiful _in the dictionary, a picture of Ellena would pop up.

"Rowan? Hello?" Rowan's eyes fluttered as Ellena waved her hand in front of her face. Rowan stepped back a couple steps and put her hands up in front of her,

"What? What!?"

"Can we get back to the motel? I don't want to dwell around my gravesite too much longer it's kind of creepy." Rowan rolled her eyes and grabbed Ellena's hand, suddenly feeling the warmth of their motel room heating her tan skin. Rowan felt sick to her stomach and rubbed her forehead, walking over to the sink and grabbing a glass of water.

"Ugh… all this teleporting is making me sick…" She felt a pair of arms wrap around her stomach and her muscles tensed up. She felt Ellena's cheek rest on her shoulder and her eyes glanced at her sister from the corner of her eyes.

"Thanks Roe…" Rowan smiled and looked back down at the glass of water shaking softly in the cup.

"Anything for you, sis. I'm really glad you're back… you have no idea how lonely I was."

"I can't imagine." Ellena let go of her sister and the two walked over to the table and sat down across from each other. Ellena's face held grief as she looked at Rowan,

"You had Castiel, didn't you?"

"Yeah but… nothing's more comforting than family. You see how Cas is just by being around him for a few minutes. He has some… _issues_ that I'm trying to work out with him." Rowan smiled and Ellena nodded with agreement. Ellena played with a pen on the table and Rowan watched it with interest,

"Dean and Sam… how'd you meet them?"

"How do you know about them?" Rowan counteracted with another question. Ellena sighed,

"Well… when I was down in the pit, there was a lot of talk. I learned a lot about the Winchesters just by talking with other demons… and then I actually _met_ Dean." Rowan's eyebrows narrowed as she tried to comprehend what exactly Ellena had just said. She remembered when Dean told her he went to hell,

"Wait… you _met_ Dean in hell?"

"Yeah… I was already a demon when we met but I wanted to help him. He had potential to avoid the horrors of hell and I taught him how to keep his humanity and stay as pure as possible. Then the angels came and whisked him away while destroying everything and every demon in their wake." Ellena grabbed the pencil and tapped it against the table, her blue eyes meeting with Rowan's, "The Winchesters aren't bad guys and I don't want you to be angry with what they did to me. It's understandable. Someone leaked information to them that I was a lieutenant of Lilith's and I was trying to break a seal and that's why they tried to wring me of my knowledge. They were only doing what they thought was right."

"So what the hell were you doing?"

"Trying to save the seal." Ellena said plainly and Rowan stared at her with an utmost curiosity, "The Winchesters thought that I was killing unborn children, when in fact, I was putting warding seals on them. The seal will break if the demons get a hold of the pregnant mothers and forty one of them to go into premature labor all at the same time; those premature infants will then be sacrificed. I may not have saved them but I sure as hell slowed the demons down. The only way the seal can be broken is if those forty one mothers are within a fifty mile radius of each other."

"Who leaked the information to Dean and Sam? Do you know?" Ellena shook her head, brooding over the subject as she stared at the pen in her hand. She looked back over at Rowan,

"No… but I think I have an idea who it might have been. Sam has already been compromised… something that I was hoping I could have stopped when I found my way to earth. But I guess I was far too late…"

"Give me a name and I'll kill them myself." Rowan said through narrowed eyes and Ellena shook her head,

"You're not going to be able to get to her. She's in too deep with Sam."

"Who?" Rowan tilted her head at Ellena, hearing her little sisters voice turning dark as she snapped the pen in her hand in half with ease.

"Ruby."


	8. Chapter 8

**Season 4, Episode 17: It's a Terrible Life **

**Part 1**

"Hey! Wake up already!" Rowan's eyes burst open and her chest lunged up from the bed to see Ellena staring at her, hand on her hip, with an eyebrow raised. A small smile crossed her face as she walked over towards the table to set down the items she had in her hand. "Nice hair." She snorted and Rowan's hand grasped onto her disheveled head of hair, smoothing it down as she stepped out of bed. Rowan groaned and clenched her eyes shut, rubbing her forehead once sitting down in a chair. "I went and got you some Krispy Kreme; I know it's your favorite." Ellena smirked and opened the box of donuts, pushing a hot, steamy cup of hot chocolate towards her older sister. Rowan's eyes widened as she slowly stood up from her seat, hovering over the box of glazed donuts. The warm smell of the freshly baked pastries wafted in through her nose and her mouth and eyes began to water. She looked up at Ellena with gratification, her eyes twinkling like a child,

"How did you get these…?" Her voice held disbelief as she stared at her sister widely. Ellena rolled her eyes and shook her head with an amused smile,

"Demon, teleporting, don't really sleep? Yeah, I can tell you haven't grasped the concept yet." Ellena went to a large duffle bag that was situated on her designated bed while leaving Rowan to her dozen of glazed donuts.

Rowan grabbed a donut and stared at it blissfully, taking a moment to admire its glazed beauty before shoving it in her mouth. She clenched a fist and waved it softly in front of her, closing her eyes and groaning with satisfaction. She chewed softly and opened her watery eyes, tasting the splendor of donut goodness. "Oh my God…" Her words were almost incomprehensible with a stuffed mouth as she looked over at her sister thankfully. Ellena looked over her shoulder with a smile, yanking items out of her large duffle bag,

"You're welcome." Rowan finally managed to swallow the pastry and sipped on her hot chocolate,

"Are you gonna eat any? I swear if you don't I'm gonna eat the entire box." Rowan's fingers plucked another out of the box and she held it in her hand, looking back over at Ellena. She saw her little sisters head shake while she situated her attention on the clothes she was pulling out of her duffle bag.

"No, go ahead and eat up."

"Oh come on El, you may be a demon but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the magnificence of a good donut."

"Don't worry about me." She said plainly and Rowan only shrugged her shoulders, not in the mood to argue with her sister while an entire box of donuts stared her in the face. Rowan took a bite out of her second donut and sighed, looking at the fluffiness of the pastry.

"I should really watch my figure around these things. I'm gonna get fat…" Rowan stopped chewing and shook her head, "Fuck that I love donuts." Her mouth sank into yet another bite and she sipped on her hot chocolate in silence. She glanced over at Ellena, who continued to deflate her bag and Rowan grew curious. That duffle bag wasn't there last night, was it? "Hey El, what's in the bag?" Ellena folded a sweatshirt and glanced back at her sister for a moment, slapping the sweatshirt down on the bed and reaching in for another article of clothing.

"I went shopping this morning. I'm not gonna be stuck wearing your _type_ of clothing when they don't even fit me." Rowan did notice that her pants were a little too big for Ellena. She was a bit skinnier than Rowan; Rowan being a bit more filled out than her little sister. Not to mention that Rowan's rump was larger than the average girl.

"What do you mean _my type_?" Rowan asked with a pout and Ellena didn't glance over her shoulder this time, only focused on her clothing.

"You do wear some pretty tight clothes, not to mention they can sometimes be too revealing for my taste. Besides, I needed to get some new formal clothing for my aliases."

"Oh yeah… I forgot about that."

"Do you still have them? All my fake ID's?" Ellena turned around and asked; staring at her sister's bulged out cheeks that had been stuffed with a large donut. Her blue eyes only stared at Ellena sheepishly and Ellena rolled her eyes, "You burned them, didn't you?" Rowan grimaced as she swallowed the large lump of donut down her throat,

"I can get you new ones… I'll just call Bobby."

"Bobby? Bobby…. Why does that sound familiar?" Ellena's face twisted into confusion as she struggled to remember the name. Rowan smirked and stood to her feet,

"Bobby Singer? Remember? He was an old friend of dad's… we met him a few times when we were kids." Ellena tilted her head as her face struck recognition, her eyes narrowing,

"That old coot is still alive?"

"Healthier than a horse." Rowan nodded and Ellena hummed in her throat,

"Well, we're gonna have to get me a cell phone and stuff, too. I still have to get all this demon stuff down… it's trickier than I thought."

"I'm sure it is." Rowan mumbled as she walked past Ellena towards the nightstand of her bed. With eight out of twelve of the donuts sitting happily in her belly, she plunged down on the edge of her bed and grabbed her cellphone. She stared at the illuminated screen, pouting when she saw no missed calls of left messages. She had been hoping that Dean or Sam would have called to apologize or even try and investigate the situation they caused.

She tapped on the touch screen and brought up Sam's number, staring at it for a few moments before tapping the call button. Ellena looked over at her curiously, narrowing her eyebrows, "Who are you calling?" Rowan put her finger to her lips to silence her sister as she waited patiently through the annoying ring backs on the other end. Moments passed and Sam still didn't pick up the phone until it went to the voicemail.

"_This is Sam, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." _A couple seconds passed and the beep finally ensued. Rowan let out a sigh,

"Hey Sam it's Rowan… I wanted to talk to you guys about yesterday so as soon as you get this, call me back. Maybe we can meet up somewhere or something." Rowan pulled the phone away and ended the phone call, going back to her contacts and selecting Dean's number from the bunch. Calling his number, the same thing happened and his voicemail popped up,

"_This is Dean, you know what to do."_

"Dean it's Rowan. Call me back as soon as you get this message." She tossed her phone on the bed and stood up, Ellena watching her as she walked back over to the donut table.

"Maybe they're working a case and aren't able to answer the phone?"

"Maybe… I just wanted to clear the air with them. Make clear that if they try and do that to you again, there will be hell to pay. No pun intended…"

**.:=:.**

Days had passed and Rowan and Ellena moved on from the town they reunited in. The two headed to Bobby's house in South Dakota and retrieved Ellena's fake ID's. Rowan and Ellena explained to Bobby the situation they were put in and Ellena's new lifestyle as a demon. He was a bit hesitant about the idea at first, but soon accepted it, knowing that it was what their father would have wanted.

Dean and Sam were still not heard from, not even Bobby could get ahold of them.

Rowan and Ellena found themselves in back in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to stay at the main storage unit their father had bought. It wasn't anything like a motel or home, but there were cherished memories in that place and they didn't care how dark or droll it was.

"Man, this place really hasn't changed." Ellena plopped her duffle bag on the floor and stared around the large unit with her bright blue eyes. Rowan pulled her street bike in behind her sister and parked it in the corner, shutting the door roughly behind her with her foot. Ellena looked over at Rowan, who grunted with dissatisfaction, "I told you I would teleport you everywhere. You could save money on gas _and_ it'd be faster than making me wait for you everywhere we go." Rowan tossed her backpack on the bed and peeled off her leather gloves,

"Hell no! Teleporting makes me sick to no end… man, you really don't appreciate the freedom of the open road."

"Not when you have that death trap you call a motorcycle. I remember when you wrecked that thing going a hundred and thirty miles an hour; it's a surprise it's still running like it is."

"That's because I had to put a new engine in it! The Winchesters thought it'd be a good idea to kidnap me and leave my beautiful bike out in the middle of nowhere. It got stripped of all its glory and I had to friggen rebuild it!" Rowan counteracted in the argument and Ellena only scoffed and rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips.

"Well it'd be so much easier if we went and got the car, now wouldn't it?"

"Well jee El, it would be easier but let me enjoy the good weather while it lasts!"

"Someone has a broomstick up their ass." Ellena growled at Rowan's stubborn attitude as she pushed past her towards their dad's old work desk. Rowan hunched over it and ran a handful of fingers through her crimson hair, sighing and closing her eyes. Ellena walked up behind her and tilted her head with crossed arms,

"What's your problem?" Rowan looked up and turned around, leaning on the work desk while staring deeply at the ground. Finally, her blue eyes met her sisters,

"It's Dean and Sam. They're not returning my calls and they wouldn't even answer for Bobby. I'm starting to get a bit worried about them. It's been almost a week."

"Worried? Since when were you worried about other hunters? I mean, I know the Winchesters are like, big players in this whole apocalypse thing, but still. It's kind of unlike you."

"Yeah well I've changed a lot since you left. Besides, Castiel says I should keep in contact with them." Rowan looked to her backpack and sighed, rubbing the back of her neck from the heaviness of her motorcycle helmet.

"And that's another thing… I haven't heard from Cas since he fixed your body. I keep calling him but there's no answer and he usually comes to me when I call whether it's an issue or I get lonely and want company."

"Maybe he's dealing with heaven stuff right now?"

"Or something happened."

"You sure have turned into a worry wart. I see that this pretty-boy angel has taken my place while I was gone." Ellena joked while plopping down on the bed, wriggling on the crunchy plastic that protected it from dirt. She stared at the ceiling and heard the displeasure in Rowan's voice,

"Of course not. He was just the only one that was around while you were gone." She felt the bed pulse under her back as Rowan sat down on the edge, "I don't know it's just… not like Dean and Sam to stay untouchable for this long. They usually call me to clean up some dirty work."

"Well, I can go investigate if you want me to." Rowan looked down at her sister,

"I can try to trace their location by tapping into their cell phones."

"That will help. Is the laptop still here?"

"Yeah and I installed an internet modem last time I was here so we don't have to go to those damn coffee shops anymore and get creeped on by old guys." Rowan flinched with disgust as she stood to her feet and walked over to a rack, searching for the laptop. Ellena grunted and leaned up, getting to her feet as well,

"I think I have somewhere to start. I'll be back in a little bit." Rowan looked over to see Ellena standing with her eyes closed. She raised an eyebrow and pulled the laptop off the rack while walking towards her little sister.

"Uh, you okay?" Ellena's eyes popped open and she stared at Rowan confusingly,

"I should have teleported." Ellena looked at her hands and around the floor, finally spotting the culprit that disabled her demonic power. She rolled her eyes and sighed, looking at Rowan as if it were her fault.

"What?"

"Would you be so kind as to destroy this devils trap that's on the floor?" Rowan looked down to the ground, seeing the red spray paint that littered the dark concrete. Rowan couldn't help but smile and snicker to herself, pulling her knife from her belt and walking over to the outer ring of the pentagram. Ellena sneered in a mocking manner, "Ha ha very funny…"

**.:=:.**

Ellena stared at an old cabin that stood lonesome in the woods around her. The wooden siding decayed from years of nonstop wear from the daunting weather and windows clasped to the sills desperately in their shambles. A hard wind blew through the air tauntingly, but Ellena ignored its cries and walked forward towards the broken steps of the cabin. Ellena's ears picked up the faint sound of familiar Latin chanting, knowing she was in the right place. Her footsteps didn't bother to be silent and she took a deep breath, lifting her foot and slamming it hard against the door.

The door exploded into pieces and she stepped in, eyes locked on the demon she was looking for.

"You…"

"Hello, Ruby." Ellena's eyes narrowed and Ruby stepped away from her alter, standing want staring back at Ellena. Both of the female demons blinked their eyes, showing their blackness to each other in attempts to scare the other off, but each stood their ground.

"Didn't think you'd make it out as quickly as you did. I see you got your old body back… courtesy of that damn angel and that bitch sister of yours." Ruby said while narrowing her eyes and Ellena smirked softly.

"You best watch your tone." Ellena walked forward, amused by Ruby's expression as she tried to hide her fear. Ellena tilted her head, "But you know very well I'm not here for a friendly chat."

"What the hell do you want?" Ruby asked intently and Ellena slid her knife from its sheath, holding it against her thigh. Ruby eyeballed it and looked back up at Ellena,

"Where're Dean and Sam?"

"I don't know. Haven't talked to them in over a week." Ruby was slammed up against the wall and stared down at Ellena, seeing her hand extended towards her. She gritted her teeth as Ellena slowly choked her with her kinetic power,

"Where are they!?" Ellena barked and Ruby snarled at her, desperately trying to breathe,

"I don't know where the hell they are!" Ellena dropped Ruby and marched towards her, grabbing Ruby by the throat and pressing her knife against her slim neck. Ruby stared back at the Rogan sister grudgingly,

"Sam hasn't called me since the incident with Alistair! I have no idea where they could be!"

"Don't lie to me or I'll watch you choke on your own blood…" Ruby smirked and shook her head, chuckling lowly in her throat. Ellena stared at Ruby confusingly, her eyes widening when she felt Ruby's knee dig into her ribs. Ellena gasped and Ruby slammed her to the floor with her boot,

"I'll give you one thing, you've definitely gotten stronger since the first days of your demonhood…" Ellena growled and tossed her hand towards Ruby, shoving her against the wall so hard she burst through the other side. Ellena jumped to her feet and stepped through the shambles,

"You have no idea how powerful I've become…" Ruby felt her body slide across the floor and crawl back up another wall, staring back into the bright blue eyes of Ellena. "Did Sam and Dean tell you where they were going next?"

"Of course not!" Ellena felt Ruby's words crawl through her ears and sighed internally, knowing that she was telling the truth. She heard Ruby laughing to herself and stared into her black eyes hatefully, "You're too late, Ellena… Sam's in too deep, there's no hope in saving him now!" Ellena growled in her throat and slowly clawed her fingers into a fist, crushing Ruby's ribcage. Ruby gritted her teeth and let out a cry of pain, gasping for air through the blood that trickled down her lips.

"I'll see to it that Sam doesn't have another taste of demon blood ever again. Even if that means I have to rip apart your tainted soul to do so!" Ruby couldn't help but chuckle to herself, managing to bear through the dire pain that huddled in her core.

"Oh… Ellena. Sam can't be saved, Lucifer will rise, and this world will be ours!" Ellena huffed and turned around, walking back through the broken wall and towards the wall. She dropped Ruby from her grasp and heard her choking as she sat on her knees. Ruby gritted her teeth and stared at Ellena ruefully,

"Why did Lucifer choose you over me, you traitorous bitch!?" Ellena looked over her shoulder with a smile, staring into Ruby's confused black eyes.

"Because you're too weak."

**.:=:.**

Rowan grunted and stared tiredly at her computer screen, her eyes glazing over fuzzily from staring at it for so long. Hours had passed and hacking into Dean and Sam's phones was trickier than she thought. Ellena still wasn't back from wherever she had gone and Rowan hoped that nothing happened to her dear little sister. Grabbing her glass of freshly poured whiskey, she brought the glazed liquor to her lips and took a sigh of relief, feeling the warmth sliding down her throat. "I hope your liver lasts longer than your heart." For the first time in a while, Rowan wasn't startled by the sudden appearance on her sister. Rowan placed the glass back down on the floor and stared at her red headed sister as she approached. Glancing back down at her bright laptop screen, Rowan's fingers typed flawlessly across the keyboard,

"I'm glad you're finally back; I found us a lead." Rowan turned the laptop to face her sister and Ellena leaned forward, staring at a blinking dot on the screen. Rowan smiled,

"I dialed in on their location. It took me a while but I managed to hack into their phones and track their whereabouts."

"Detroit, Michigan?"

"Not that far from here. In the morning, if the location is still there, we should head out." Rowan put the laptop down and took notice to blood on Ellena's jacket. Rowan stared back into Ellena's equally bright eyes,

"What's with the blood?" Ellena quickly looked down and found the blood stain on her jacket, looking back to her sister as if she had just been caught sneaking out of the house. Rowan raised an eyebrow and Ellena sighed,

"I went to talk to Ruby… see if she knew where the Winchesters were."

"Ruby? That demon bitch that's attached to Sam's hip?" Ellena nodded and Rowan stood to her feet with a smile, balling a fist and shaking it at Ellena, "Did you beat her ugly face in?" Ellena took notice to her excitement and smiled, shaking her head and shoving her hands in her pockets.

"No, I wish I could have but I didn't."

"But why not? I wish I could've when I first met her…" Rowan turned around and walked to the mini fridge that she had stocked while Ellena was gone. Grabbing a soda, she popped the top open and took a quick sip, her mind slipping into the conversation they had a few days ago. Turning around, Rowan saw her sister's eyes faded,

"Do you know what's wrong with Sam?" Ellena looked back over at her sister with a deep sigh, nodding shyly. Her mouth drew into a thin line and she walked over towards the gun wall, staring at the numerous firearms that sat patiently. She studied them admiringly, "I take it you've seen his power…"

"Yeah, he's the one that killed Alistair when we went to save Dean." Ellena looked back at her older sister,

"Ruby unlocked Sam's potential. He's been drinking demons blood, and the more he drinks, the stronger he becomes. It's like a drug and it's slowly killing him inside. I wanted to escape hell before it all began to happen, but she got to him before I did."

"So it's like his super juice or something? Like Bane from Batman?" Ellena smirked and nodded, walking towards Rowan.

"I guess you could say that." Rowan took another large swig from her soda, forgetting about the whiskey that waited for her consumption. Ellena sighed,

"So… Detroit tomorrow? Are you gonna let me teleport you there? Or are you going to make me wait until you get show on that deathtrap of yours?" She nodded towards the jet black street bike and Rowan rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"Fine… fine I'll let you teleport me there. But if I throw up on you, don't blame me."

**.:=:.**

"Ugh… that was too much for me." Rowan held her stomach and bent over slightly, feeling the queasiness of the donuts in her belly working against her. Ellena scrunched her nose and ignored her sister, looking around the crowded streets of the city. Ellena looked back down at Rowan, who groaned next to her, and bumped her with her arm.

"Get up, we have work to do." Rowan leaned up and put her hand to her mouth, taking a deep breath and holding it for a few moments. With a small burp, her stomach managed to settle down and she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket. Turning on the transmitter, she stared at the blinking down on her screen,

"Alright so… we go down that street over there for about four blocks and take a right, following that street for another two blocks and I think we'll be there." She pointed through the sea of cars that littered the crowded streets. Ellena nodded and Rowan held her phone out in front of her, walking to the crosswalk. The crowd that gathered at the edge of the sidewalk patiently waited for the crosswalk light to turn. Rowan placed her hands in her pockets and wobbled her legs as she waited impatiently. Minutes had passed and the light still didn't switch, Rowan letting out a grunt of displeasure,

"Will you chill out? Sheesh."

"I hate the city. I hate all the people in the city; they're all just a bunch of cattle waiting to be slaughtered." A few people glanced at Rowan disturbingly and Rowan sneered back at them. Ellena rolled her eyes and grabbed her sister's arm, yanking her across the street as soon as the crosswalk light turned. The Rogan sisters trudged across the sidewalks and through alleyways and streets, watching their position on the phone growing closer and closer to the blinking light.

Finally Rowan stopped and stared at her phone, seeing their position right next to the blinking light of Dean and Sam's supposed whereabouts. She looked over at Ellena, her sister nodding her head before proceeding. They walked down a narrow alleyway, Rowan putting her phone back in her pocket when they were just about on top of the position. The alleyway ended and finally, they exited into a large, abandoned parking lot surrounded by tall, chain linked fencing. The two looked around and Ellena took notice to a familiar item,

"Rowan… isn't that the Impala?" Rowan turned around and her eyes found the sight of the Impala's sleek black finish. She narrowed her eyes and walked towards it, Ellena not far behind, and stared in through the cloudy window. Dean and Sam were nowhere to be seen, making Rowan's worries get even more suspicious. She looked back at Ellena,

"Teleport in and unlock the doors?" As quick as a blink of an eye, Ellena disappeared and Rowan turned to the unlocking sound of the door. Ellena stepped out and Rowan leaned into the large interior, looking around for any evidence. She pulled out her phone, seeing that they were right on top of the blinking dot. Rowan huffed with disappointment and unlocked the driver's side door for Ellena, hearing it open and her sister shuffle in.

"What the hell is this?" Ellena shook her head in disbelief and confusion, sitting down and rummaging around in any crevice she saw. Rowan popped open the glove box,

"Dean would never leave his car somewhere like this." Her eyes narrowed when she saw the compartment full of cell phones and she grabbed on in particular, studying it's features.

"This is Sam's phone." She reached back into the glove compartment and pulled out another familiar cellphone.

"Deans?" Ellena asked and Rowan nodded with a bit of hesitation. She sighed and rested them on her lap, chewing on her lip and staring out the large windshield. She shook her head and looked at Ellena,

"Something's not right. None of this is adding up at all."

"I'm drawing a blank, too." Ellena and Rowan both stepped out the muscle car and shut the doors behind them, meeting behind the car. Ellena leaned on the trunk,

"Well, we have no leads here. What do you wanna do now?" Rowan stared out through and alleyway at the people passing by, deep in thought as she chewed on her lip. Looking down at the ground, she took a deep breath and looked back at her sister,

"Only one thing we can do at this point." She shoved off the trunk of the Impala and stopped, hands in her pockets. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she concentrated her power into a quick connection. Ellena studied her sister intriguingly as she heard her soft voice speak,

"Castiel… I need your help right now. I can't find Dean and Sam and I hope you didn't whisk them away on some angel business. If not… they're in trouble and they're gonna need our help." There was no answer and Rowan opened her eyes confusingly. She stared up at the cloudy sky above her through her narrowed eyes, "You've become pretty accustomed to not showing up when I call you. I need you now, Cas… you're the only one I can rely on at this point." She heard Ellena clear her throat and looked over her shoulder to see Ellena raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. Rowan shrugged, "What? He _is _the only outside source I can rely on." Rowan turned around to face her younger sister, who leaned on the back of the Impala patiently. "Maybe if you pray, too, he'll realize how desperate we are."

"What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know… you were always the religious one when we were little, praying with mom and whatnot." Ellena sighed and closed her eyes, Rowan doing the same. Silently, they whispered their prayers to Castiel, Rowan waiting to be startled by his sudden appearance. But alas, Castiel didn't connect back with her, even telepathically. He had never telepathically contacted her before, but she knew he could do it.

"Uh… Rowan?" Rowan opened her eyes and gasped when she noticed that they weren't in the parking lot anymore. She turned around to see Ellena just as shocked as she was. The Impala was gone, the city was gone, and the damned people she hated so much were gone. The two sisters stared around their surroundings, taking in the beautifully decorated room. Rowan's eyes found the table in front of her and she stared in awe at the mound of donuts that settled themselves on a gold platter.

"What the…?"

"I'm afraid Castiel can't come to the phone right now." Rowan and Ellena stepped back when a man suddenly appeared in the room, his hands behind his back and a charming smile on his face. He wore a dark grey suit with salt and peppered hair, middle aged but with a zesty side. Rowan's eyes narrowed when his true face suddenly appeared in her eyes, "But I can take a message if you'd like."

"Which one are you?" Ellena asked shakily as she stared at the friendly looking man, his true face staring back at her as well. Rowan stared back at him with the same curiosity,

"I'm your friendly neighborhood Zachariah."

"Zachariah?" His attention drew back to Rowan as she repeated his name questioningly. He nodded and walked towards her,

"How come I haven't heard of you?"

"There's a lot Castiel hasn't told you because I ordered him not to tell you." Rowan's eyebrows drew together and she stepped in front of Ellena protectively. Zachariah smiled amusingly, "Don't worry, I'm not going to harm your precious little sister."

"Where are we?" Ellena demanded and Zachariah looked to her,

"A special little place. Somewhere safe."

"Why are we here?" Rowan asked and Zachariah smiled,

"So you don't interfere with Sam and Dean of course! I can't have you waltzing around Detroit ruining my little seminar with them."

"What do you mean? What did you do with them?" Rowan asked and Zachariah sighed, walking around the table and grabbing a donut, taking a bite out of it. He stared at it admiringly and then his brown eyes flicked back over to the red headed sisters,

"Those two… oh, what can I say about those two! Dean, Dean, Dean… he's just as stubborn as you are Rowan. Won't accept his destiny in this world so I have to teach it to him."

"Destiny? What destiny?" Zachariah placed the donut back down on the table and grunted, walking towards the two sisters. Staring down at Rowan, he shoved his hands in his pockets,

"They were born for a reason, as were you two. All four of you serve an important purpose in this impending apocalypse." He watched both their mouths open to retort with a question and Zachariah put his hand up to silence them. Rowan put her hand to her mouth when no words exited and stared back at Zachariah with shock. He only smiled, "Sorry, but nonstop questions really annoy the heck out of me. Let me make this clear… you two are going to stay here until Dean and Sam learn their lesson and once they leave Detroit, I'll let you two go." He lowered his hand and Rowan took a deep breath,

"I want to talk to Castiel." She was relieved to hear her own voice and stared intently at Zachariah, who only smiled and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Like I said, he can't come to you at the moment."

"Why not?"

"Well, other than severing his connection to you, I made sure your prayers won't reach him and he won't come running like the loyal dog he is." He towered over her and stared at her with brooding eyes, his smile dropped off his face and for once, Rowan was actually scared of an angel. "I see the way he is around you… the doubt that clouds his mind when I give him orders that regard you in particular. You are a catalyst and I'll be damned if I'm going to let a whore like you corrupt one of my best soldiers." Rowan shoved her fist upward to cut his face upon hearing the word _whore_. She heard a loud snap and felt a nuclear explosion of pain erupt in her body, seeing the bone of her arm sticking out through a large tear in her jacket. She shouted out in pain and fell to the floor, gripping at her arm, not knowing what to do.

Ellena quickly knelt down to Rowan and put her hands on her back, staring up at Zachariah fearfully. Zachariah sighed sharply and pulled on the edges of his business suit, straightening it out, "Well then, now that I have your attention, I gather you won't challenge my authority."

"Let us go!"

"Roe stop!" Ellena grabbed at Rowan as she jumped up from her position and lunged at Zachariah, only for her eyes to meet the palm of his hand. Her body halted and she couldn't move, barely being able to blink her eyes as she stared defiantly at the angel. Zachariah smirked,

"Did you ever wonder how bad stage four stomach cancer hurts?" His hand turned as he snapped his fingers, Rowan doubling forward and throwing up blood on the floor. She dropped to her hands and knees, putting her hand to her mouth as blood dripped from her pale lips. Her stomach contorted once again and she gasped out in pain, falling to the floor and beginning to shake from the sheer agony.

"Rowan!"

"And you." Ellena grabbed her throat as she felt invisible hands beginning to strangle her. She whimpered and gritted her teeth, trying her best to gather whatever air in her throat she could. Rowan looked up,

"Stop!" Zachariah looked down at her, watching the blood dripping from her lips freely. Rowan spit blood on the floor and ruefully stared at the angel, the pain in her stomach unimaginable as she watched his lips move,

"You oppose me one more time and I will smite her where she sits without hesitation." Rowan huffed and closed her eyes, nodding slowly and clutching her stomach with her arms. Zachariah looked back to Ellena and released the younger sister's neck, hearing her panting as she tried to catch the breath she dearly missed. He looked back down at Rowan and smiled, watching her face contorting in pain, "As for you, I think a little bit of stomach cancer will do you some good. Maybe you'll think twice about that smart mouth of yours." His beating wings filtered the air and Ellena's eyes widened when the angel had disappeared. She looked down at her sister, seeing Rowan lying down on the floor weakly and spitting the excess blood flooding her mouth.

"Fucking angels… I swear…" She clenched her eyes shut and moaned, grasping onto her stomach as tightly as she could.

"Rowan, try not to move your arm is still broken."

"I don't give a shit." She growled and Ellena observed the pain riddled tears streaming down her older sisters cheeks. Ellena rubbed a hand down her face and jumped up, slamming her fist into the wall.

"Dammit Zachariah! You come back and fix my sister!" She shouted, punching the wall once again and putting a dent in it. She blinked and before she knew it, the crack in the wall had healed itself and stood stronger than before. Ellena gritted her teeth and shoved her fist back into the wall, hearing her knuckles crack under the pressure and feeling them break. She ignored it and continued punching the wall until her hand turned purple and blood stained the wallpaper.

Panting, Ellena stepped back and watched the wall heal itself once again. She rubbed her hand and narrowed her eyes, turning back around to see her sister shivering and convulsing from the excruciating stomach cancer. Ellena balled her fists and closed her eyes, anger boiling under her skin. Rowan felt the floor beginning to shake and turned her head, watching Ellena through blurry eyes and hearing the walls cracking as if a sledgehammer had been taken to them. She covered her face when she heard the lights above her explode and shatter about her body.

"Ellena!" She shouted through the tremors of the earthquake, hearing a high pitched screeching sound. Rowan slammed her hands against her ears and shouted, waiting for whatever was happening to be over.

A blaring car horn was the first thing Rowan heard and her eyes whisked open, seeing the cloudy sky hovering above her. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the tips of skyscrapers brushing up against the clouds, glowering down at her. Her chest heaved and she coughed out, blood spewing from her mouth like a fountain, dripping onto her face. She took a groggy breath and felt her heart pounding against her chest,

"Rowan! Rowan!" Her eyes found Ellena as she hovered over her, her voice slowly fading from Rowan's ears. Her mouth moved frantically and she could feel her sister shaking her to try and induce a response. Rowan coughed again and more blood trickled from the corners of her mouth, feeling her heart begin to slow down.

She knew the sensation and her mind finally came to terms that she was slowly dying from the cancer.

Ellena began to panic, not knowing what to do as she watched Rowan's eyes roll to the back of her head. She felt helpless, not being able to heal her sister and knowing that Zachariah wouldn't be kind enough to fix her. Ellena closed her eyes and a tear descended from her eyelashes, "What do I do?" Ellena quickly clasped her hands together and put them to her forehead, clenching her eyes shut and murmuring under her breath. Feeling her shaky hands against her forehead, Ellena concentrated on one thing and one thing only. Her eyes popped open and her head whipped around her shoulder, her heart pounding with relief upon the sight of a familiar friend.

"What happened?"

"It was Zachariah." Ellena's voice was soft as she stared into Castiel's worried eyes. He quickly knelt down next to her and Rowan's eyes opened, smiling at the sight of her dear angel. She elevated her hand and Castiel took it, placing his free hand on her forehead. Ellena watched with a delighted smile as the blood that stained her sisters skin suddenly disappeared.

Rowan took a deep gasp of air and her eyes lit up like a set of Christmas lights, staring around at Castiel and Ellena. She leaned up quickly and pulled her hand from Castiel's, stumbling to her feet and slamming into the Impala. Realizing where she was, she looked back at the angel and her demon sister, rubbing her hand on the arm that had been snapped in half. She gritted her teeth and trudged towards Castiel with a vengeance. "Take me to that bastard angel! I'm going to rip his spine out and shove it right down his cocky throat!"

"Rowan calm down before you explode!" Ellena grabbed at her sister and Rowan stared back at Castiel, her face furious. Castiel's face drew into a thin line,

"Where have you been?" Rowan narrowed her eyebrows confusingly and tilted her head,

"What do you mean where have I been?"

"You've been gone for days…"

"Days?" Ellena asked and Castiel nodded,

"Almost a week. I've been searching the entire globe for you two. Ellena's prayers were the first one's I've heard from you both since I repaired her body."

"Well the hell?" Rowan looked back at her sister,

"Were we in that room for that long?"

"I don't think so. It only felt like a few minutes."

"What room are you talking about?" The two sisters looked back at Castiel, who stared at them confusingly. Rowan gave a quick glance at Ellena before looked back to Castiel,

"A pretty classy looking room with donuts and fine art hung all over the walls. I got to meet Zachariah, he's a real _charmer_." Castiel dipped his head at her sarcastic statement and sighed, "I gotta tell ya… he's in the running for King Asshole."

"What made him take you to that room?" Castiel asked and Ellena stood next to her sister, crossing her arms.

"We're looking for Dean and Sam. If you haven't noticed they kind of fell off the face of the earth as well."

"I did."

"Wait, you know where they are?" Rowan asked and Castiel moved his head to avoid any eye contact with her. She grabbed his chin and turned it back towards her, making him look at her.

"Where are they?"

"I can't tell you."

"Listen Cas! I didn't go meet your boss and almost die from stomach cancer for nothing! Tell me where Dean and Sam are, I'm sick of you all keeping secrets from me!" She yanked her hand from his chin and continued her hard gaze at the angel. Castiel's jaw tightened and Rowan watched his prominent Adam's apple bob with uncertainty.

"Just tell us where they are, Cas." Ellena plead and watched Castiel glance at her reluctantly. He was silent for a few moments, deliberating on what words would flood from his mouth. Castiel looked back at Rowan and opened his mouth,

"Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you, Castiel." The three whipped around to see Zachariah smiling smugly, approaching them with casual intentions. Rowan watched Castiel's face turn fearsome, knowing that his superior was not happy about the sisters' escape. Zachariah stopped in front of them and sighed apologetically, staring at Ellena and raising his eyebrows, "You're a lot stronger than I thought you would be. Breaking my seal and managing to escape? Smart on your part." He looked to Rowan, seeing her bright eyes stabbing him over and over again. Amusingly, he smiled and nodded his head, "I take it the stomach cancer didn't do a damn thing to break your spirits?"

"You can eat me."

"I don't eat whore for breakfast… sorry." Rowan stepped forward and she felt a hand on her chest, looking up to see Castiel staring at her and shaking his head. Rowan narrowed her eyes and sighed abruptly, staring back at the cocky angel that smirked at her devilish intentions. Zachariah's eyes met Castiel's and he waved his hand towards him, "Come now, Castiel." Castiel hesitated and looked back at Rowan, but ultimately, he walked next to Zachariah, who smiled triumphantly at Rowan. Rowan gritted her teeth hatefully and Zachariah put his hand on Castiel's shoulder, "Well, looks like I win." With a snap of his finger, the two angels disappeared and Rowan let out a held breath, grunting and turning around to face her sister. Ellena stared back at Rowan with soft eyes,

"I swear I'm going to kill that asshole one of these days." Rowan pushed past her sister angrily towards the Impala and Ellena turned back around, seeing her older sister opening the driver's door and stepping in. Ellena walked slowly towards the car, watching as Rowan tore out the heart of the Impala's wiring under the steering wheel, searching for the right one to hotwire it.

"You're going to steal the Impala?"

"No, _we're_ going to go find the boys. I don't care what it takes; they're obviously in some _type_ of trouble." She said more for herself than Ellena. Rowan grabbed her knife and cut two wires in half, criss-crossing them and bringing the two copper wires together. The Impala's growling engine struggled to turn over without the key in the ignition. Rowan growled to herself, still agitated, and sparked the two wires once again with eager determination. A smirk crossed her face once the purring engine of the Impala roared to life. Victory erupted in her chest and she looked up at her little sister as she stood over Rowan, "Well, let's get goin!" Ellena walked around the car slowly, stepping into the passenger's seat and looking over at Rowan. She fumbled with the controls, laughing nervously as she hefted the car into reverse, "Heh… it's been a while since I've driven a car…" The car bounced backwards once Rowan let the clutch out too soon, but with experience, she shoved it back to the floor and the Impala rolled to a stop with the help of the brakes. Ellena sighed sharply and stared at Rowan,

"Do you need me to drive?"

"You haven't driven longer than I have."

"Roe, you were the one that drove us everywhere we went and you can't even remember how to drive a friggen car after two years of riding that stupid motorcycle?" Rowan pouted and put the car in first gear, pressing the gas and letting out the clutch slowly. The Impala's wheels moved slowly,

"Shut up…" Rowan maneuvered the car through the huge parking lot and made way towards the crowded streets. Finally getting the hang of it, the wheel under her hand sucked her into old memories and the purring engine of the Impala made her smile.

"I've been waiting to drive this beauty."

"How are we going to find two guys in a city with a population of over seven hundred thousand people?"

"Oh, stop being such a Negative Nelly. What's with you?" Rowan replied to her sisters agitated tone. Ellena only shook her head and pouted, staring through the windshield as they came to a stop at a red light. With a sharp sigh, Ellena looked over at her Rowan, who waited for an explanation.

"You almost died, again, by that sharp tongue of yours. Do you ever know when to stop?" Rowan snorted and shook her head,

"Stop worrying about me so much."

"No, I won't stop worrying because you are so friggen reckless ever since I got back and you know… I think it was really dumb of you to accept whatever the hell the angels offered to you."

"Well, that's not really something you have a say in." Rowan argued and Ellena only scoffed and shook her head, looking out the window.

"You really have changed…" She mumbled drearily and rested her chin on her hand, staring at the multiple buildings, people, and skyscrapers they passed by in the city traffic. Rowan sighed and glanced at her sister, wondering if the situation involving Zachariah really tore at her sister's patience. She kept her eyes focused on the cars in front of her on the windshield, something catching her eye for a moment. A small, white piece of paper reflected on the windshield and she reached her hand over the dashboard, grabbing it and pulling it out of the vent. Ellena looked over curiously as her sister stared at the paper, unfolding it and seeing a set of beautifully handwritten words.

"What's that?" Ellena asked while leaning over the large bench seat, staring at the piece of paper. She watched a smile crawl across Rowan's face,

"Thank you Castiel…"


	9. Chapter 9

**Season 4, Episode 17: It's a Terrible Life **

**Part 2**

Rowan stepped out of the black Impala, staring up at the skyscraper that towered over her menacingly. Rowan's ears picked up the passenger's seat door closing behind her, glancing over her shoulder and seeing Ellena walking up next to her. Ellena sighed and stared at the brooding doors of the building, "This the right place?"

"The exact address on the note Cas left. Dean and Sam have gotta be here."

"Good a day as any." Ellena shifted and Rowan looked both ways before crossing the street, her sister not far behind her. Ellena noticed the gun in the waistband of Rowan's pants, staring at her sister's back questioningly as they walked up a flight of concrete stairs outside the building. Many people flooded in and out the front doors, most clad in business suits and royal attire of the modern day society. Rowan opened the giant glass door and held it open for her sister, the two red heads stopping in the enormous lobby and staring at the artistic fountain in the middle of the floor.

"They could be anywhere in this building."

"Well then, we've got all day to find them." Rowan shrugged and walked towards a reception counter, seeing a pretty young woman manning a computer. Rowan leaned on the counter, clearing her throat and grabbing the attention of the blonde haired female.

"Hello, may I help you?" With a charming smile, Rowan shifted and looked back at Ellena, who stared back at her older sister questioningly.

"I talked to someone on the phone earlier and they told me to come in and talk to them about a large iron bridge that's in the works on the other side of the city? I think his name was…. Dean Winchester?" The woman's face held confusion, but struck a certain point of recognition at the first name. The woman nodded and stared back at the sister's,

"You mean Dean Smith? Yes, he works here. He's the director of sales and marketing; I don't know why he would want to talk to you about an iron bridge."

"Would we be able to talk to him in any way possible? It's a really important matter on our fathers company." Ellena butted in and the receptionist gave her an odd look before standing to her feet with a white, gleaming smile.

"Let me go get my manager and maybe he can work something out with you two."

"Didn't lose your touch… that's for sure." Rowan smiled at Ellena, who nodded,

"Well, spending my entire life revolved around hunting doesn't leave me too rusty."

"Alright, I just spoke with my manager and he says to give you these." The sisters heard a clank and looked down at the desk in front of them, seeing two cards staring them in the face. "Once you're finished with your business, just bring the cards back to me and you can be on your way." The receptionist smiled and the Rogan's smiled back, grabbing the cards and walking towards the elevator. Ellena stared up at the floor numbers on the direction pad,

"Business and Marketing… fifth floor." She pushed the button and the doors closed, Rowan looking above her as she felt the elevator shove off and pulse up through the building. She jittered anxiously and tugged at her leather jacket, sighing and closing her eyes. Ellena looked over at her and raised an eyebrow,

"What's your problem?"

"I don't know… just wanna make sure they're alright."

"Yeah, but we only know where _Dean_ is… we didn't even ask about Sam." The two sisters blue eyes met with each other and their attention was cut short when they heard the sharp bell of the door opening. A flood of ringing phones and voices suddenly raided Rowan's and Ellena's ears. Rowan's eyebrows narrowed when there were people crowded around the narrow entrance to a hallway, "What's going on?"

"I don't know… let's go find out." The sisters exited the elevator and made a beeline towards the crowd, pushing through the employees of the iron company. Their blue eyes found police officers as they began to wheel out a body wrapped in white, pushing people out of the way. Rowan stepped towards the cop decorated in pins, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her fake ID. Flipping the small booklet open, the officer stared down at her a bit confusingly,

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Detective Cooper and this is my partner Bradley." Rowan motioned for Ellena, who quickly flashed her badge and the two shoved their ID's back into their pockets simultaneously. The officer acknowledged their presence with a nod,

"I take it you're both here because of the "suicides"… a bit out of uniform, I see?" He studied their formal outfits and the two girls stared down at their clothes, obviously forgetting they were clad in their hunting attire. A charming smile crossed Rowan's face,

"We actually were taking a day off from another case a few miles from the city."

"Our Captain called and asked us to come check out the case here… the matter seemed urgent so we didn't have time to get into uniform. Please forgive our informality." Ellena vouched with a soft smile, her innocent face winning over the heart of the officer. With a smile, the cop shook his head and put up his hand,

"No need."

"What exactly happened here?" Rowan asked while raising an eyebrow and glancing over her shoulder, seeing the elevator doors closing with the body and coroners inside. Turning her head back towards him, she heard a sigh and he stared down at her with skepticism on his face.

"After the victim spoke to Mr. Dean Smith about some business matters, he charged into the bathroom hysterical and Mr. Smith followed him in. The victim supposedly shoved a pencil into his jugular and unfortunately bled out. That's all we know for now." Rowan and Ellena glanced at each other, their blue eyes holding a secret conversation quickly before looking back at the officer.

"Can you point us in the direction of Dean Smith? We'd like to talk to him."

"Yes, sure… he's right over there in that big office." The officer replied to Ellena's question and pointed behind the two sisters. Their eyes followed his direction into a big glass office, seeing Dean facing away from them and staring out the window. Ellena grabbed Rowan's arm quickly before she even made a movement,

"If you two lovely ladies will excuse me, I have to get back to the station."

"Of course, thank you for your time!" Ellena expressed with a smile and watched the officer disperse the crowd of employees. She returned her attention back to Rowan,

"We need to make a plan here."

"Like what exactly?"

"I'll go talk to Dean about the incident and just act as an FBI agent. You go talk to a receptionist or something; try to find out where Sam is. We need to do this fast before Zachariah finds out we found them." Rowan let out a sharp sigh, stealing another glance from Dean's office and then looking back at Ellena. Her little sister raised an eyebrow, waiting for Rowan's reply. Rowan nodded hesitantly and took a deep breath,

"Alright… meet me down in the lobby as soon as you're done." Without a reply, Ellena and Rowan turned away from each other and each took to their own tasks at hand. Ellena weaved around desks and random plants scattered about the office floor, finally finding a safe way of travel straight towards Dean's office. Placing her hand on the cold steel handle, she pressed in and glided through almost silently. She stared around the room, seeing how spick and span the office space was, slightly impressed despite everything that Rowan told her about him. She knew what he was like in hell, but nothing about his personal life in the here and now.

"Dean." She startled him and he whipped around to face her, his face shambled by her sudden appearance. He put his hand to his heart and took a deep breath, glaring at her,

"Jiminy Crickets! You scared to snot out of me!"

"Sorry…" Ellena apologized, but raised an eyebrow at Dean's rather clean and uptight demeanor. He wore a baby blue button up shirt with a blue and yellow striped tie, complete with polka dot suspenders that kept his black pants in their right position. His hair was pressed to the side, not shaggy or upwards from the hair gel he usually used. There were no leather jackets, no blue jeans, and no boots occupying his body.

All she saw was a business man.

"Can I help you?" He asked the younger Rogan sister, staring at her odd red hair. Ellena walked towards him and reached into her pocket, pulling out her FBI badge and flashing it at him.

"Detective Bradley, I came to ask you a few questions." He took a deep sigh and retreated around his desk, taking a seat and elevating his hand towards a couple next to Ellena,

"You're welcome a seat, Detective."

"No thank you. I just came here to talk about the incident; the police Captain told me you were there?" Dean hesitantly nodded and Ellena pushed forward,

"What happened exactly? Down to every last detail, please."

"I called in Ian to talk to him about some numbers that needed fixing. He was really jittery and freaked out thinking that he didn't do a good enough job. I reassured him he did and he just bounced out of my office towards the bathroom. I followed him to talk to him and try and calm him down but he was mumbled words I didn't understand. Finally, he turned to face me and he just…" Dean choked down the words in his throat and nervously adjusted the tie around his neck. Ellena narrowed his eyes,

"And that's when he killed himself with the pencil." Dean nodded and his blue-green eyes stared over at her. Ellena nodded and narrowed her eyes, "Did you experience anything unusual about the circumstance? Speaking in tongues? Did the room suddenly get cold?" She watched Dean's jaw tense at her words, only making her even more curious. He fumbled with his fingers and debated silently in his head before looking back up into her icy irises.

"I uh… I saw my breath appear in front of me. Like it was a snowy day or something…" Ellena's brows rose on her face with a soft nod and she quickly reached in her coat and pulled out a business card. She tossed it on Dean's desk and he took it in his hand, staring at it,

"If you have any other information, please call me and let me know."

**.:=:.**

Ellena stepped out of the elevator, looking around the lobby for her fiery sister. Spotting the Rogan red head, she made a beeline towards her. Taking note of her sister's anxious pace, she knew that something was oddly wrong. Rowan most likely experienced the same thing as she did, "Rowan." Rowan stopped and faced her sister, Rowan's face burning with a scowl. Ellena narrowed her brows, "What's wrong?"

"Sam's wrong! That's what's wrong!"

"Okay… well that didn't really answer my question…" Ellena grabbed her sister's arm and made her sit on the marble edge of the fountain. Rowan's leg bounced annoyingly on the ground and she crossed her arms with a sharp huff. Ellena stared confusingly at her sister, "What happened? Did you find Sam?"

"Oh… I found Sam alright. Dressed up like a giant friggen sunflower! There's definitely something going on here… no matter what I said, all the things I told him we did together, he declined any affiliation with me. He said he didn't know me and he didn't even look like he recognized me when I walked up to him."

"Yeah… Dean didn't seem to recognize me either. I had my human face in hell and I expected him to but… he didn't say a word. Although I did find something out about that "suicide"." The sister's set of twin blue eyes met each other and Rowan stared curiously at her sister. Ellena tilted her head,

"Dean said his breath _manifested_ in front of him before the guy shoved the pencil into his neck." Rowan's face turned puzzled and her eyes narrowed, taking a moment to suck the information into her brain.

"So we've got a case inside this?"

"Looks like; and we better find out what's going on quick before something else happens."

"Well if he saw his breath it's not doubt a ghost. We're gonna have to keep eyes on the boys now… go undercover and try to get to their heads. Zachariah did something to them, wiped their memory, and it's only a matter of time before he finds out what we're up to." Rowan stood to her feet triumphantly and Ellena stared up at her. Rowan threw a glance down at her sister, "Dean already knows what you look like so I'll take to him. Sam's on the fourth floor in some shitty cubicle… so I don't know what you're going to do with that."

"Janitor." Rowan raised her eyebrows and a sly smirk crossed her cheeks, slapping a hand on Ellena's shoulder,

"I like the way you think."

**.:=:.**

Rowan walked out of the elevator, strutting through the array of office desks around her. She made her way towards Dean's office, undercover in a sexy office outfit. She was going to pose as Dean's assistant, even though he didn't have one. Rowan wore a knee-high tight skirt that stretched across her thighs, a black half sleeved coat, and long black heels on her feet. Some of the office-men's jaws dropped as she walked by, her angelic beauty radiating throughout the room as she passed by. Her hand found the handle to Dean's office and she pulled the door open, stepping and stopping a few feet in front of his desk. Dean immediately took notice to her presence and saw her standing tall, hands on her hips, the only thing moving on his face was an eyebrow raising. Rowan was slightly confused; he didn't even steal a second glance at her as he looked back down at his computer, typing away.

"Can I help you?"

"I came to talk to you. It's very important, sir."

"Well, it'd help me a lot if I knew who you were." Rowan stepped forward and leaned over on the desk, her cleavage peeking out from between the flaps of her jacket,

"The names Rowan. Surely, you remember me?" She said with a sly smirk and Dean's face froze as his eyes slowly glazed back to his computer. Rowan pouted and Dean did his best to try and avoid looking at her,

"Right…"

"Dean, you're in danger." Dean stared back at her confusingly, his eyes narrowing at the seriousness on her face,

"Is that a threat?"

"No. There's something going in this building and it's going to eventually come after you. Come on… all these "Suicides"? Think about it!"

"They're just suicides… it happens all the times." Dean said plainly but Rowan could hear the wavering in his voice. Rowan huffed and moved around his desk towards him, "What're you-AH!" Rowan grabbed his necktie and sat down on his lap, trying to trigger at least some type of memory. He always flirted with her and Rowan rarely returned the favor. But maybe, just maybe, if she did he would finally break free of Zachariah's grasp with pure desire.

"Come on pretty boy… use that big-boy brain of yours." She stroked the back of Dean's head with her fingers and leaned close, only a few inches away from his face. Dean stared at her fearfully, a lump in his throat caging the words on his tongue from escaping his lips. He didn't know what to do. Rowan pouted when he wasn't budging or trying to make a move.

_It's not working._

"Well… if angel power has put you in this mess, maybe it can get you out." Dean stared at her perplexed and Rowan reached her hand up against his forehead, concentrating all her power to that particular part of her body. She closed her eyes and felt his skin heating up her hand from embarrassment, smiling at a brief thought. A tingle surged through her hand and she opened her eyes, seeing that Dean's eyes were slowly brightening. Just then, out of nowhere, Rowan felt a large swell of electricity jolt through her chest, making her gasp and fall backwards onto the ground. She flinched and gritted her teeth as the shock drilled into her bones and froze her on the floor. Dean took that opportunity to jump out of his chair and run for his office door,

"Stay away from me you crazy, demon harlot!" Rowan groaned and rolled over to her side, lifting her torso off the ground and rubbing her head. She didn't care that Dean left frantically out the office door; she cared more about the burning headache brewing in her brain.

"Damn… should have known he'd put a barrier like that on Dean." She grunted and pushed herself back on the soles of her high heels, stretching her neck to reduce the strain on her head. Huffing, Rowan straightened out her clothing and looked out through the office window, "You're not going to get away from me that easily." She said more to herself, seeing as she was the only one in the room. Yanking open the office door, she looked around the large room of interns and assistants, seeing Dean nowhere. Rowan pushed around the office spaces once again towards the elevator. She jumped in and pushed a button to the lobby floor, watching as the door closed in front of her.

"This building's not that big; he can't stay in hiding forever." The elevator chimed as it passed the different floors, moving slowly through the floors down to Rowan's chosen destination. Once the elevator opened, she stepped back out and stared through the mass of people walking around the lobby. No one could escape Rowan's gaze.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Rowan turned around to face a couple police officers staring down at her. She felt brief alarm, but quickly masked it with a charming smile,

"Hello officers, can I help you?"

"Yes you can. Please turn around and put your hands behind your back."

"Excuse me?" One of the officers grabbed her shoulder and turned her around when she didn't heed his command. He held her as his partner grabbed her wrists and brought them together behind her back. Rowan didn't fight, but she was madly confused on what was going on, "Hey!? What's going on why are you cuffing me?"

"Sir, is this the woman you called us about?" Rowan heard one of the police officers ask as he turned Rowan around. Her eyes widened when she met Dean's eyes, seeing the relief of safety in them once she was captured. He gave a stern nod to the policeman,

"Yes… that's the one."

"Ma'am, you're under arrest for sexual harassment."

"S-Sexual harassment!? Are you joking!?" Rowan stared back at Dean in disbelief and the policeman's partner walked with Dean far away from Rowan. The police officer holding Rowan pulled her towards the front door and out into the muggy air of Chicago. She glanced back over her shoulder and then back at the officer, "Why the hell am I getting arrested for _sexual harassment_!?"

"That man claimed you attacked him in his office and sexually advanced towards him."

"Oh… he's _so_ going to regret this…" She mumbled under her breath as the police officer stopped her and opened his squad car door. Rowan was reluctant, but ultimately, the police officer made her get in. He pushed her head down as she stepped into the back of the car, making sure she didn't hit her head on the way in. He retreated to the driver's side door of the squad car and started the engine, pulling off the sidewalk towards the police station. Rowan scowled back at the building as it escaped her view.

**.:=:.**

Ellena walked about the jungle of cubicles, pushing a cart full of supplies past all the employees. She watched Sam from a distance carefully, watching as he typed away on his computer, pushed pencils, and dealt with angry employees over the phone. Ellena pushed her cart along a wall and grabbed a trashcan, emptying it in her garbage can and putting a new bag in it. She briefly looked over at Sam and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest she caught his eye. Ellena quickly took to what she was doing and wheeled to cart back down towards a janitor's closet. Sam watched her curiously, every step of the way, until she disappeared into the closet. Ellena took a deep breath and grabbed the collar of her janitors uniform, yanking it open to release the stagnate heat building up in it. She sighed with relief and rubbed her head, leaning on the cart, "Ugh… how long do I have to keep doing this?"

As if on cue, the phone in her pocket vibrated madly, making her practically jump out of her skin. As her heart throbbed against her sternum, she took a deep breath and rummaged around in the large pocket. Her fingers finally found the angry phone and she stared at the unknown number on her screen, her eyebrows furrowing curiously. Answering the call, Ellena put it to her ear, "Hello?"

"_Ellena! Thank god you answered your phone!"_

"Rowan? What's wrong, are you okay?" Ellena became worried at the sound of her big sister's distressed voice. She heard a scoff on the other phone and Rowan's voice became even more distraught.

"_No! I am not okay! I'm sitting in jail! I need you to come bail me out!"_

"J-jail? _**Jail**_? Why the hell are you in jail!?" Ellena asked suddenly disgruntled. How the hell could Rowan get arrested in such a short amount of time? It had only been a couple hours since they had split up.

"_I got arrested, alright!? Dean called the cops on me, can you believe that!?"_

"Well… why'd he call the cops on you? What did you do?"

"…_.. I may or may not have flirted with him and he uh… kinda took it the wrong way and the cops slammed me with a sexual harassment charge." _Ellena stifled and laugh and put her hand over her mouth to hide it. She heard Rowan growling on the other end,

"_What the hell's so funny?"_

"I told you not to get too comfortable in using your body to get what you want. Now look at where you ended up because of it!"

"_Oh screw off Ellena! Just get your ass down here and bail me out already!" _Ellena heard the line go dead before she could make another joke. Rowan obviously wasn't in the mood to hear Ellena lecture her about how wrong she was to _always_ use her body to get information. Ellena sighed and ran a hand down her face, rolling her eyes and grabbing the flaps of her janitors outfit. She quickly stripped out of the uniform and dropped it to the floor, straightening out her clothing that jumbled under the baggy attire. Closing her eyes and concentrating, Ellena dug deep into her demonic soul and suddenly, wind blew her hair about her face.

Ellena opened her eyes and stared at the large building in front of her. The large letters of **JAIL** stared her in the face as she walked in. The visitor's room was incredibly busy and Ellena moved through everyone like a snake through grass, trying her best to avoid snot and tears from some exaggerated, crying individuals. She stopped at the front desk, seeing a female police officer manning the computer and trying her best to ignore all the annoying chatter around her.

"Excuse me?"

"Hm? What do you need miss?" The police officer asked and Ellena put on an innocent smile,

"My sister got arrested a few hours ago and they posted her bail… I came to pay and pick her up."

"Alright, what's her name?"

"Rowan Rogan." Ellena replied and the female police officer's chubby fingers typed about violently on her keyboard. The poor keyboard bounced about on the desk until she looked back up at Ellena, focusing her attention on her,

"Two thousand dollars please." Ellena groaned and reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet and flipping through the mass of credit cards that cried out for her to pick them. She couldn't remember which ones still had money on them, or which ones were maxed out; so quickly playing credit card roulette, she plucked one out of its designated flap and handed it politely to the woman. The officer quickly swiped it and Ellena prayed it still had money on it. The officer handed it back to her after a few moments, "Alright, your sister will be out shortly. They're going to get her right now."

"Thank you." Ellena stepped back and tucked the credit card back into her wallet, wheeling around to find a seat to wait in until Rowan showed up. A groan lifted in her throat when all the seats were taken and only a sliver of bare wall called her name. She slowly moved over to it and leaned on the wall next to a scruffy, tall, skinny man that glared down at her. Ellena flashed him a quick smile and then looked away, her eyes widening and her mouth moving silently with a "_wow"._ Minutes passed as Ellena waited, tapping her foot patiently on the floor with her arms crossed,

"Yeah, yeah, just give me my shit so I can get out of here! I was falsely accused dammit!" Ellena's ears perked when she heard Rowan's angry voice call to an officer over the counter. Rowan grabbed her stuff and snatched a few papers from the female officer's hand, trudging towards the front door and smiling once she saw Ellena. Ellena stepped outside and Rowan followed after her with barefeet and not being able to handle the heels in her hand anymore,

"Oh! My dear sister thank you for saving me from that nasty hell!" Rowan went to hug her sister but Ellena quickly dodged her,

"Don't touch me I don't know what you've been doing in there!"

"Oh, how cruel!" Rowan seemed to take in a bit of offense but Ellena ignored it, putting her hands on her cocked hips,

"Now that you learned a lesson there, hopefully, can we get back to business?"

"Yeah whatever." The two walked down the sidewalk and Rowan looked over at Ellena, stepping lightly with her bare feet on the cold concrete.

"So, gather any information on the platter of suicides taking place at the company?"

"Yeah actually. I snagged a computer from an empty cubicle and did some research. Turns out the owner, P.T. Sandover who died in 1916, had no wife, no kids, and basically cared for the company like it was his own child."

"So? A lot of company owners are like that." Rowan flinched as she stepped on a hard rock under her bare foot, grumbling to herself,

"Yeah but this isn't the only time the company started having a mass amount of suicides. Back during the Great Depression, when the stock market crashed, people started offing themselves. Seventeen to be exact."

"Hm… so the only time that the company had no problems with any suicides was between now and the Depression? We got a ghost that feeds off economic distress?" Rowan asked Ellena. Ellena was smarter than Rowan, but not by much. With a nod, Ellena looked over at her sister,

"Seems like it. This is a very hard time for the economy and maybe Sandover is starting to kill off the lazy people to try and save his company from falling."

"Sounds about right. Which means we have to go back and try to find this ghost before it kills again; and this time it might be Sam or Dean." Rowan and Ellena stopped, looking at each other and syncing a deep sigh. Rowan smiled and slapped a hand on her sisters shoulder, "Welp, once night comes we'll head back in and find the object keeping him connected to this world. Now, zip us back to the Impala so we can get ready and I can get out of these shitty clothes!"

"Don't get too comfortable with my abilities…."

**.:=:.**

Rowan snapped the sawed off double barrel back into position, loading it with rock salt bullets. Ellena pumped the shotgun in her hands full of rock salt as well, looking over at Rowan. The Rogan's rummaged around through the trunk of the Impala, readying themselves for the ghost hunt ahead. They hid in an alleyway across the street from the Iron Company, waiting silently for the building to completely shut down to enable them to sneak in like cats. Rowan smiled and rubbed her hand along the two barrels of Dean's sawed off shotgun, "I've been waiting to shoot this baby forever."

"Lights went off." Ellena nodded her head towards the building and all at once, the lights on the lowest level of the building went off. Rowan clicked on her flashlight and grabbed a bag of salt, just in case they would need it.

"Alright… let's do this, sister." Rowan slammed the trunk shut and the two sisters ran out from the shadows of the alleyway, darting across the street and claiming the stairs in front. Ellena waved for Rowan to follow her to a door on the side of the building in which it would be easier to get in. Rowan looked over her shoulder and scanned the surrounding areas around them as Ellena knelt down to pick the lock of the door. Rowan then realized what she was doing and smacked her sister's shoulder, "Why the hell don't you just zap us in there?" Ellena and Rowan stared at each other for a few moments, realization striking Ellena's face with a smile. Ellena grabbed Rowan's hand, and before they knew it, the two were already in the dark lobby, the giant fountains water still for the rest of the night. Ellena cleared her throat and clicked on her flashlight,

"I keep forgetting about that."

"Yeah well my brain sure saved us a lot of time." Ellena snorted at Rowan's comment and Rowan tossed her a scowl before turning on her own flashlight and pursuing after Ellena. The two walked towards the elevator and saw that it worked, pressing the arrow button pointing up. As the two stepped back into the familiar elevator, Rowan looked over at Ellena as she pressed the button to the fourteenth floor.

"You sure Sandover's old office is still in room 1444?"

"The room is still there. I looked at the blueprints and found out they use it for storage, but all his old stuff is still in there." Rowan hummed in her throat and heard the loud _ding_ of the elevator letting the sisters know that their floor had arrived. Ellena and Rowan poked their heads out from the edges of the elevator, looking both ways and making sure it was clear to enter. They gripped their guns tightly and stepped out cautiously, the elevator doors closing behind them. "This way." Ellena whispered and Rowan followed her quietly in her shoes, bringing Dean's gun up in front of her just in case Sandover's ghost decided to show up. Ellena stopped at a corner and looked around the side, her eyes widening as she turned back around to Rowan,

"Someone's coming, go, go!" Rowan whipped around and she and Ellena quickly backtracked to a dark corner, hiding behind it and hearing footsteps approaching them. The girls steadied their breathing and glanced around the corner with a sliver of their eyes,

"Sam?" Sam was being dragged along by a small security guard, the two stopping in front of the elevator and the guard pushing the down button. Ellena looked back at Rowan and Rowan shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what to do. They could easily knock out the security guard and take Sam hostage,

"What the hell is he doing up here this late?" Ellena asked quietly as Sam and the security guard disappeared through the doors of the elevator. Rowan stepped out from behind the corner and jogged towards the elevator, looking up at the floor numbers appearing above it,

"Guess we're gonna have to split up."

"I'll go after Sam. That security guard is gonna get him arrested."

"Guess that leaves me to room 1444. I'll try to find the object." Rowan looked back at Ellena and the two nodded at each other. Ellena headed to a door leading to the stairwell,

"Stay there and watch what floor they stop on. Once they stop just holler down the stairwell and let me know." Ellena burst through the door and began to descend down the mass of stairs. Back and forth, her legs hit the concrete steps and she steadied herself with the rail, jumping off the steps and down another set. One by one, she passed the different floors, looking up above and waiting for Rowan to shout down to her. Almost tripping, she brought her full attention to the steps in front of her, feeling good as her muscles finally got a work out for the first time in years.

"The tenth floor!" Rowan's voice echoed and Ellena stole a look at the giant number on the wall, seeing a giant black twelve staring her as she passed by. She huffed and as quickly as her legs would let her, her feet slammed down on the steps. Ellena grabbed the railing and used it to help her stop, panting lightly as she stared at the giant black ten on the white wall. Grabbing the door handle, she tore it open, but saw no Sam or the security guard. But suddenly, her nose picked up the strong scent of blood and she turned towards the elevator, her eyes narrowing. She slowly walked towards the thing on the ground, a white shirt stained in blood. She gasped when she noticed it was the security guard, torn in half by the elevator. The elevator had been stuck and there was only a small gap that the security guard had tried to squeeze through.

"Hey! Are you alright?" She saw Sam standing frozen in the elevator covered in splattered blood. Ellena knew he was trying not to throw up upon the sight of so much blood and guts in front of him. Ellena knelt down and looked through the gap, Sam's eyes bringing himself to face her. His face struck recognition,

"H-hey… aren't you the janitor?"

"I guess you could say that." Ellena grabbed the torso of the split security guard and drug it away from the entrance. Ellena knew it had to have been the handiwork of Sandover's ghost and if Ellena didn't get Sam out quick, he would most likely suffer an even nastier fate. She got back on her knees and stretched her hand through the gap,

"Come on! You have to get out of there!"

"No way! I don't want that to happen to me!"

"I won't let it… now trust me!" Ellena reassured and Sam's jaw tightened as he stared at Ellena's hand. Hesitantly, his hand gripped hers tightly and he walked to the gap, jumping up and trying to squeeze through. Ellena pulled on his strong arm and he slowly slip through the gap, Ellena helping him to his feet. Sam panted and looked back at the elevator, then back down to the blood all over his face and clothes. He moved his arms about, but didn't know what to do with himself.

"Who are you?"

"We don't have time. Let's get you cleaned up and back to the fourteenth floor. My sister's waiting for us." Ellena turned around and looked around for a bathroom where paper towels would be handy. She heard Sam's heavy footsteps pursue after her quickly,

"Fourteenth floor? Dean's up there right now, too!" Ellena looked back at Sam shockingly.

**.:=:.**

Rowan crept around the hallways of the fourteenth floor, mentally noting the different doors numbers as she passed by. She didn't know the layout of this exact floor and wished she had stolen a look from the blueprints Ellena had hacked into. But alas, she was too focused on the mountain of donuts at the bakery shop they stopped into before their mission.

Rowan stopped when she heard a crashing sound, holding her breath and focusing all her energy on her ears. It happened again and Rowan silently tip toed around a corner, bringing her gun up, but seeing nothing. A string of shouts came from a door in front of her and she stared at the lettering on the clouded glass, her eyes narrowing.

_**1444**_

Rowan shoved open the door with her foot and jumped in. With a quick aim and the pull of a trigger, the gun exploded backwards in her hand and rock salt sprayed all over Sandover's ghost. He shattered into ectoplasmic pieces and Rowan huffed from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She looked down at her shaking hand from the recoil of Dean's gun and let out a laugh, "Damn! This baby kicks!" She heard a groan and looked down, seeing Dean rolling over onto his chest and pushing himself to his legs. Rowan smiled and rested the gun on her shoulder, walking forward cockily as she watched him brush himself, "I gotta say, it is a bit fun saving your ass every chance I get. Sure does show who the better hunter is." Dean finally saw his rescuer and his face froze in fear and shock upon seeing Rowan. She rolled her eyes and the gun fell off her shoulder and pointed towards the ground, "Don't worry… I'm not here to _sexually harass_ you again." The words rolled off her tongue sarcastically,

"Who the hell are you!?" Rowan sighed and shook her head,

"Don't worry about it. What're you doing in here anyways?"

"Looking for uh…. Stuff…" Rowan narrowed her eyes and stepped towards the uncomfortable man, staring into his eyes. Her smile grew larger on her cheeks,

"You're looking for the ghost remains, aren't you?"

"How do you know about that?"

"No time. Did you find anything?" Dean shook his head and straightened his necktie, his words jumbling in his throat,

"N-no… nothing that belonged to Sandover."

"Any memorabilia in the building? Somewhere people keep historical artifacts of the building?"

"Yeah, on the top floor, I think." Rowan turned around and walked towards the door,

"Then that's where we're headed."

"Hey, wait!" Dean called after her, but Rowan kept walking. Dean followed her like a loyal dog through the string of hallways. His phone rang and he quickly answered it, most likely talking to Sam on the other end. Rowan stopped at the elevator and pushed the button, waiting for the elevator to move. But as she looked up at the glowing number above the door frame, it didn't move.

"It's broken." Dean told her and immediately took back to his conversation on the phone. Rowan looked back at him and scoffed, walking towards the stairwell in which Ellena had disappeared in. She heard Dean tell Sam on the other end to meet them on the seventeenth floor and then snapped his phone shut, following Rowan. The sound of their footsteps together clattered the emptiness of the stairwell. Rowan didn't have a problem with it, but she could hear Dean beginning to get winded behind her. It was only three floors of stairs, what was the big deal? Finally, Rowan stopped at the door leading into the top floor and looked back down at Dean, seeing him barely being able to finish the last steps. She grabbed his arm and practically yanked him off his feet and up the last couple concrete steps,

"Come on you baby!" She shoved the door open and followed the hallway to a small, lobby-like area in which pictures of iron bridges and buildings littered the walls. Dean heaved over and rested his hands on his knees, panting and trying to take a breather. Rowan stared at the glass cases of memorabilia, not seeing anything in particular that participated in the situation.

"Hey… look at these." Dean finally snapped out of his fatigue and stepped forward, pointing at a pair of gloves in the glass case. Rowan narrowed her eyes and looked at the little plaque that sat above it. She smiled when she made the direct connection of Sandover's name on the tablet and who the gloves belonged to. She heard the door to the stairwell burst open and both she and Dean turned, Rowan pointing the gun in her hand. Ellena and Sam walked towards them, Sam about dying out of his breath in the same manner as Dean. Rowan smiled and pointed towards the glass case,

"Found it."

"The object?" Ellena stopped next to her sister and looked at the gloves, Sam standing behind her with his hands on his hips and panting away.

"A pair of gloves?" Sam asked and Dean smiled, looking over at Sam,

"How much you wanna bet there's a little smudge of DNA in there? Like a flake of skin or a fingernail?"

"Let's get this over with already." Sam said and Ellena and Rowan stared at each other. Rowan brought the butt of the pistol back and slammed it against the glass, shattering it into pieces. She scraped the edge of the gun around it and grabbed the gloves. Ellena breathed out, as well as Sam, the two seeing their breath forming in front of them,

"Uh… Rowan." Sandover grabbed Dean by the back and threw him against the wall, Dean grunting and falling to the ground. He grabbed Sam and threw him backwards against another wall, Ellena acting quickly and pulling the trigger to her shotgun, the ghost exploding into pieces.

"Hurry up Rowan!" Rowan quickly dug her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out her zippo lighter, snapping it open and lighting a flame. Her eyes widened when she felt a hard surface slam against her and knock her across the floor. Ellena went flying across the room into a window, the window shattered and sent Ellena sliding onto the tiled floor below her. Sandover appeared once again and walked towards Sam, his had sparking with electricity. Sam looked over and saw the bag of salt had that fell out of Rowan's pocket, grabbing it just in time before the ghost attacked. Sam threw salt towards him and Sandover disappeared.

"Hey, are you guys alright!?" Dean had recovered and looked around at the sisters, Ellena getting to her knees in a bloody mess. Rowan groaned and rubbed her head, standing to her feet,

"Don't worry about us! Light those damn gloves on fire!" Dean jumped for the gloves, but Sandover had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him back against the wall once again. Sam quickly scrambled to his feet as Sandover began to approach Dean with his fingers sparking, ready to kill the older Winchester. Sam grabbed the gloves and the zippo lighter laying silently on the floor, taking a couple tries for the ignition to spark. Finally, the flame ignited strongly and Sam held the gloves over the bright flare. The flames took no time to catch the leather and eat it up as if it were a thanksgiving turkey. Sam dropped the gloves and looked over to see Sandover had disappeared into a mass of flames, Dean looking back at him shockingly as the gloves burned to a crisp on the ground.

"Nice job…" Dean got to his feet and walked towards Sam. Sam looked around confusingly and tilted his head at Dean,

"Where'd those girls go?"

**.:=:.**

Rowan felt warm and fuzzy for the first time in days. She opened her eyes and saw nothing but a light shade of black above her. Jolting forward, she looked out through the windshield of a car, her brows drawing together with mystification. Her eyes turned to the passenger's seat to see Ellena finally waking up as well. She looked around in the same manner as Rowan, and finally, the sisters eyes met and questioned their surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I think… we're in the Impala." Rowan finally recognized the interior of the sleek black car. The two stepped out and shut the doors behind them, seeing that they were in the alleyway in which the car was still parked in the night prior. The sisters turned and saw the iron company standing behind them, "How did we get down here?"

"With the help of myself." Rowan gasped and turned to see Zachariah walking towards him, hands behind his back humbly. Rowan exchanged quick glances, "Don't worry; I'm not here to kill you… yet." He reassured, stopping in front of the Impala and glaring at Rowan.

"I see you managed to find Sam and Dean. Congratulations… I'm done with them now. You can have your precious boys back."

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it? Could've just done that at the beginning." Rowan smirked cockily and Zachariah only glared back at her with a sneer,

"You two had no effect on my experiment. Actually, you two little ones helped quite a bit. Anyways, they're getting ready to walk out of the building now. Go pick them up and get back to _"trying to stop the apocalypse"."_ He quoted with his fingers and with a blink of an eye; he disappeared faster than he actually appeared. Rowan and Ellena stared back at the building briefly before getting back into the Impala. Rowan started the roaring engine and pulled the car carefully out of the alleyway, parking across the street. Rowan stepped out and shut the door behind her, leaning on the driver's side door and shoving her hands in her pocket.

"What experiment do you think Zachariah was talking about?" Rowan looked over her shoulder at Ellena, who leaned over the top of the Impala and rested her chin on her arm. Rowan only shrugged her shoulder,

"Who knows?" Rowan finally caught a glimpse of the Winchesters, seeing they were clad in their everyday hunting attire. A small smile crossed her face at the sight of Dean staring at her accusingly while she leaned on his car. They stepped down the stairs and quickly crossed the crowded street before traffic began flowing again. Rowan pushed off the car and pulled the keys to the Impala out of her pocket, tossing them to Dean, "Look what the angels dragged in! Been a while, boys…"

"How dare you drive my car without my permission! I should have you arrested." Rowan scoffed and moved out of the way of the driver's side door,

"Too late there, buddy." Rowan saw that Dean and Sam took notice of Ellena on the other side of the car, Dean's eyes widening in disbelief at her sight. Ellena stood upright and smiled,

"Hey guys."

"Yeah boys, meet my little sister, Ellena Rogan. The demon "Eleanor" you _tried to kill _a few weeks back."


	10. Chapter 10

**Season 4, Episode 18: The Monster at the End of this Book**

"This place looks good. What time is it?"

"Just about nine o'clock..." Sam replied while checking the watch on his wrist. Dean pulled the Impala into a small restaurant parking lot and came to a creaking stop. He looked into his rearview mirror, seeing Rowan passed out in the backseat. Sam and Ellena stepped out of the Impala and Dean leaned over the back seat,

"Hey!? Rowan, get up this isn't a motel six!" Dean said sternly with a gruff voice, Rowan not stirring from her slumber. Dean huffed and grabbed her arm, shaking it vigorously, "Wake up, dammit!"

"Screw off! I'm having an awesome dream!" Rowan moaned and pouted, smacking his arm away,

"Unless it involves me naked on a bed of rose petals then it's not that awesome. Now get up, we're at the restaurant!" Dean grunted and stepped out of the driver's seat, Rowan growling and rolling her head against the door. She popped open her door and lazily stepped out, seeing the boys and Ellena already walking into the restaurant. Pursuing after them slowly, she opened the door and stopped behind Dean and Sam.

"Go ahead a take a seat, I'll be right with ya'll..." An older, dark haired waiter mumbled from the register, counting his money for the night. Dean and Sam looked at each other before leading the Rogan sisters to a booth. Dean and Sam sat across from the girls; Rowan rested her tired head on her hand,

"Man, there is no one in this restaurant..." Dean looked around at all the empty tables, not one person occupying the lonely seats. Rowan followed his gaze,

"Damn... it really is empty in here."

"This can't be a good sign." Sam looked back at Dean and Ellena's eyes shifted to the boys,

"Should we go somewhere else? Let's go somewhere else." She said, worryingly that the food at the restaurant must not have been that good since it was so dead on a Friday night. Rowan grabbed a menu from the rack on the table and began to flip through the thick pages,

"What do you have to worry about anyways, Ellena? You can't even get food poisoning..." Rowan eyeballed the meat section of the menu, "It'll be fine. Just stick with the safe stuff."

"The "safe" stuff?" Dean raised an eyebrow at her and Rowan's bright blue eyes met Dean.

"I'll probably have some pasta... pasta should be fine." Sam interjected while looking at the menu. Ellena looked at Sam,

"Don't order the shrimp... it's probably bad!" She warned and Dean grabbed a menu to begin scanning the large content of various burgers choices. Rowan rolled her eyes at Sam and Ellena, the two worry-warts,

"What is this, defensive eating? Fuck that... I'm getting the lamb chops!" Rowan smacked the menu down on the table and clasped her hands together. Dean and Sam continued to bury their faces into the menu, trying to find safe food to ingest.

"Can I get any of you something to drink?" The waiter finally arrived and stared down at the girls with a smile. Rowan looked up,

"Yeah... do you guys have Blue Moon?"

"We sure do..."

"Then I'll have one of those." Rowan returned a charming smile and Dean looked up at the waiter,

"I'll have one of those too..."

"And I'll just have some water." Sam said and rested his menu down on the table. The waiter looked at Ellena questioningly,

"Anything for you, miss?" He caught her attention quickly and Ellena looked up at him, shaking her head,

"No thank you."

"Hey... I gotta question here." Dean stared intently at the menu and the waiter looked down at Dean curiously. Dean set down the menu and pointed to some pictures, "Is this beef or pork? The picture doesn't say."

"Uh... I think its beef... actually it looks like pork. Sorry, I've only been working here for about a week..."

"Yeah, it looks a little bit more like white meat." Dean agreed while nodding his head. The waiter smiled,

"I'll tell you what it's not... _boobs_. That's the best white meat!" The waiter glanced at Rowan and winked at her, Rowan snorting along with a slight laugh. Dean looked up at the waiter,

"Good luck with that man... I've been barking up that tree for weeks now. She's just one big, sexy brick."

"Can we order already? I'm starving... and how about that beer!?" Rowan smiled charmingly and interrupted, ignoring Dean's doggish behavior.

**.:=:.**

"Oh my god... that was probably one of the best dishes of food I've ever eaten." Rowan leaned back in her seat and let out a blissful sigh, downing the rest of her third beer in one swift gulp. Ellena, being a demon, wasn't much for eating. But she picked at some fries on Rowan's plate to make it look as if she had some sort of appetite. Rowan slammed her beer bottle down on the table and hummed in her throat with a soft yawn, "Okay... I'm ready for bed."

"Did you finish the follow up research on our case?" Sam directed towards Rowan and she only looked over at Ellena,

"I did this morning. I'll give you guys the full details tomorrow; you should all get a good night's rest, we've been stuck in that car all day." Ellena said and Rowan slid out of the booth, standing to her feet and stretching with a groan.

"I'm gonna head over to the motel across the street and get a room."

"I'll go with. I'm finished here anyhow." Sam said and bumped Dean with his elbow. Dean narrowed his brows and looked at him with a mouth stuffed with food.

"I'm not done eating..." Dean's words were muffled by the food and Sam rolled his eyes,

"You can stay here and finish, I'm just gonna go get our rooms."

"Ugh, fine..." Dean scoffed and wriggled out of the small booth, standing to his feet to let his gigantic little brother out of the booth. Rowan tossed a few dollar bills on the table,

"Give the nice boy a tip."

"How come I never get a nice tip?" Dean asked and Rowan only shrugged her shoulders,

"I gave you your chance."

"Since when?"

"Since the day you were under Zachariah's control as that stingy business executive. I flirted with you and was willing to take you into some dirty janitor's closet for good ol fashioned fun but... you gave it up and had me arrested. Oh well..." Rowan wheeled around on her heel and Sam exchanged a quick look to Dean's dumbstruck face. Dean gave him a dejected look of misery and Sam only turned away from him before he asked a serious question.

"_Son of a bitch_!" Dean hissed while sitting back down in the booths as Sam and Rowan left the restaurant. Ellena couldn't help but smile and look over at Dean,

"Just not your day, is it?"

"God hates me... I mean, he just sits up there with his stupid magnifying glass and wants to watch me burn!" Dean took an angry bite of his burger and chewed it violently. Ellena only laughed to herself,

"He can't hate you that much if sent the angels to drag you outta hell."

"Oh yeah, coming back to stop the sixty-six seals and looming apocalypse really is the best homecoming I could possibly imagine!" Dean swallowed his food and stared over at Ellena, who only stared back at him solemnly,

"Better than rotting in the underworld... right?" Ellena's bright blue eyes burned through the older Winchester. Dean sighed,

"Sorry... it's just been really tough since I've been back."

"I understand." Ellena said and Dean looked back at her. His lips drew into a thin line as he contemplated what to say,

"I wanna thank you, though... for helping me down in hell. You taught me a lot and it really went a long way in the end. If there's anything you ever need from me, I'm willing to help you out."

"You don't have to thank me. But there is one thing you can do for me." Her voice was stern and it caught Dean's full attention. Ellena's eyes grew furious but her expression stayed calm and serene,

"Sam... keep an eye on him."

"I do all the time."

"You need to keep him away from Ruby. Keep him in your sight as much as you can." Dean looked at her a bit confused,

"How do you know about Ruby?" Ellena looked down at her tapping fingers and cocked her head,

"I came to earth for a reason... to stop her and to save Sam Winchester. You two are quite the celebrities down in hell; it's hard not to hear your names every five seconds. I've had my quarrels with Ruby, found out what she was doing to Sam. She's in so deep with him he won't listen to reason. So keep an eye on him and do whatever you can to keep him away from Ruby. I can only do so much."

"What exactly are you saying?" Dean asked and Ellena looked up to see the tightness in his face. She straightened her head up,

"Sam is the key to the end of the world."

**.:=:.**

"Comic shop? Why would a ghost haunt a comic shop?" Rowan asked while looking at the crowded windows full of posters. Sam looked over at Rowan,

"It doesn't necessarily mean the ghost is haunting this shop... it could be the loft or the building next to it."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Rowan mumbled as Dean and Sam walked into the comic shop, their long black trench coats whipping about in the wind. Rowan smirked as she pursued after them, "Maybe I can get the new issue of The Walking Dead while I'm here..."

"You still read that stuff? About the zombies?" Ellena asked and Rowan looked over at her,

"They're not zombies... they're _Walkers_. If you're going to make fun of me, at least do it right!" Rowan pulled the door open for her little sister and Ellena rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she stepped in. The door closed by itself behind Rowan and her blue eyes glazed over the interior of the shop. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Ah... the sweet scent of nerd..." Her eyes immediately searched for the horror section.

Rowan caught a few eyes from the comic readers as they stood in the aisles. She smiled amusingly when she noticed they were peeking at her and Ellena out from behind the comics they read, "What? Hot women can't like comic books, too?" Rowan asked as she passed by a tall reader and he immediately shoved his face back into the comic.

"Uh, can I help you?" The cashier asked as he looked up at Dean and Sam, eyeballing their fake FBI uniforms. The boys quickly pulled out their fake badges,

"Agents D. Young and Shaw. Just need to ask you a few questions."

"Notice anything strange in the building the past couple of days?" Sam asked and the cashier quickly shook his head confusingly,

"Like what?"

"Some other tenants reported flickering lights." Dean said and the cashier stared at him,

"Uh... I don't think so. Why?"

"What about noises? Scattering in the walls, kinda like rats?" Sam asked seriously and the cashier seemed doubtful,

"And the FBI is investigating a rodent problem...?" He asked and Dean only smiled, letting Sam take the reins,

"What about cold spots? Feel any sudden drops in temperature?" The cashier sat and stared at the two for a moment and then leaned back with a goofy smile as it crossed his face,

"I knew it! You guys are LARPing, aren't you!?"

"Excuse me?" Dean's face looked less than amused as he stared at the nerdy cashier.

"You're fans!"

"Fans of... what?" Sam asked and Dean was still stuck on his subject,

"What is _LARPing?_"

"Like you don't know!" The cashier laughed and Dean and Sam looked at each other as if searching for the answer.

"Live action roleplaying?" Dean and Sam turned as Rowan walked up with a stack of comics in her arms. She plopped them down on the desk in front of the cashier as he gave her an odd look through his thick rimmed glasses, "You guys never heard of it?"

"You guys are pretty hardcore. Even your lovely lady friends right here!" The cashier eyeballed Rowan and Ellena's FBI outfits as well, Rowan giving a charming smile with a wink.

"You've got a pretty keen eye."

"Sorry man... but I got no idea what you're talking about." Dean said, shaking his head and the cashier only laughed to himself,

"You're asking questions like the buildings haunted... like those guys from the books!" Rowan laughed at Dean's clueless expression as the nerdy cashier continued, his face twisting into thought, "What're they called uh... Supernatural!" Dean and Sam still weren't catching on and he continued to spell it out for them, "Two guys... use fake ID's with rock aliases? Hunt down ghosts, demons, vampires. What're their names? Uh... Steve and Dirk? Sal and Dane...?"

"Sam and... Dean?" Sam corrected while looking at Dean confusingly and the cashier snapped his fingers,

"That's it!"

"You're saying this is a book?" Rowan asked while narrowing her eyes and the cashier nodded,

"Books? It was a series! Didn't sell a whole lot of copies though... kinda more an underground cult following." The cashier jumped up and moved over towards a clearance bin full of comics and boosk. Dean looked to Rowan and she only shrugged her shoulders as the four followed him over to the bin, watching as he searched for what he looked for.

"Let's see..." His fingers walked about until he spotted the object and plucked it out, "Ah! Here! That's the first one I think..." He handed Dean the copy and Dean stared at it,

"Supernatural by Carver Edlund..." He flipped it over to read the back panel, "Along a lonely California highway a mysterious Woman in White lures men to their deaths." Sam's face turned into shock and awe as he stared at Dean and grabbed the book, studying it,

"Give me that!" Sam looked over the book quickly and then stared back at the cashier, "We're gonna need all the Supernatural copies you've got!"

The cashier nodded and quickly ran to the back of the comic shop, returning with a stack of books in his hand. He placed them next to the stack of comics Rowan was paying for and rung them all up. Ellena took Rowan's comics and Rowan pulled out one of the Supernatural books, staring at the cover photo chosen. As she sat in the back of the Impala, she began to laugh hysterically,

"Oh god! Looks at these two clowns! They look like they belong in some erotic Fabio book or something!" She laughed even harder and Dean stared back at Rowan through the rearview mirror with a sarcastic smile,

"Just keep rubbing it in Rowan... it's makin' me feel a whole lot better!"

"Which one do you suppose is Sam? The buff one with the long luscious hair or the buff one with the short hair?" Rowan asked while showing Ellena the cover of the book, feeling Dean shove the Impala off down the road. Ellena looked at the cover and contemplated for a moment,

"Uh... the one with the luscious hair. He looks a little taller."

"Wh-what? I wanted to be the one with the luscious hair! I'm just as pretty as Fabio!" Dean sputtered back at them and Rowan smiled, patting Dean on the shoulder,

"You just keep telling yourself that..."

The four returned to the motel in which they were stationed and began their work on reading the Supernatural books. Rowan lied on Dean's bed with her head rested against his back as he lied on the edge of the mattress, staring up at the book the hovered over her face. Her eyes scanned all the words and took in all the information. She sighed and tossed her hand over her face, groaning and rubbing her eyes as they became sore, "Guys... we've been reading for hours. What exactly are we looking for?"

"Anything that'll give us a hint at how the hell this guy knows all this stuff..." Ellena mumbled while sitting next to Sam at the standing table. Sam began researching the books online to find out how exactly the books affected the public. Dean flipped a page,

"This is freakin' insane! How does this guy know all this stuff?"

"You got me..." Sam mumbled and continued to stare at his computer screen. Dean slammed the book down on the bed,

"Everything is in here, I mean _everything_! The racist truck to me having sex... I'm full frontal in here dude!"

"Gross..." Rowan scowled and Dean slid off the bed, staring at her,

"Oh yeah? I bet you're reading that dirty smut right now!" Dean nodded and Rowan immediately shut the book, tossing it on Sam's bed. Quickly changing the subject, she looked to Sam,

"How come you guys haven't heard about this before? Even I haven't and I've been around."

"Yeah I bet you have..." Dean mumbled and Rowan tossed him a stabbing glare. Sam narrowed his eyes,

"I don't know... they're pretty obscure and almost zero circulation. Started in O-five... this guy published a couple dozen before going bankrupt... and the last one, No Rest for the Wicked..." Sam slid the screen towards Dean and Rowan caught a quick peek of it over the older Winchesters shoulder, "Ends with you going to hell."

"Let me reiterate... freakin' insane." Dean clicked on a couple links and Dean nodded, "Well look at this... there's actually fans. There's not many of them but still... did you read this?"

"Yeap." Sam agreed and Dean sighed,

"Well for fans... they sure do complain a lot. Listen to this, Sympatico says "the demon storyline is trite, clichéd, and overall craptastic."... Yeah well screw you Sympatico we lived it." Sam laughed at Dean,

"Yeah well... keep on reading. It gets better."

"There's Sam girls and Dean girls!" Dean smiled and it quickly changed to confusion as he read on even more, "What's a slash fan?" Sam crossed his arms and hesitated, not knowing what to say,

"As in... Sam slash Dean!" Sam managed to bring his eyes to Dean, "_Together_."

"What!? They have Dean and Sam slash fiction!?" Rowan grabbed the computer screen and stared at it in awe. She pulled away once she saw Sam's accusing stare, "Uh... that's gross?" Dean stared dumfounded at Rowan, but then looked to Sam,

"Wait... as in _together, together_?" Dean asked and Sam nodded. Dean looked back at the computer screen, "They do know we're brothers, right?"

"That doesn't seem to matter."

"Oh come on! That... that's just sick!" Dean slammed the laptop shut and shoved it away from him, Rowan gasping at reaching for it. Dean shot her a look and she clasped her hands behind her back, shaking her head,

"I just wanted to use the laptop for... research. We're still on a case you know."

"Well that doesn't matter right now. We have to find out who this 'Carver Edlund' is." Dean said and Sam shook his head,

"That might not be so easy..."

"Why's that?"

"No tax records, no known address, looks like Carver Edlund is a pen name." Ellena stated and the boys looked over at her. She smiled, "I can do my own research without even leaving the room."

"Yeah well... somebody's gotta know who he is." Dean said and Rowan smiled,

"He had to have someone publish the books... right? Can't do that with a mask and fake address."

**.:=:.**

Rowan and Ellena walked down a sidewalk in a quiet neighborhood, their bodies clad in everyday clothing. Ellena pulled out her phone and checked a text message Sam had sent her, looking up at the addresses on the houses she passed by, "We're close... just a couple more houses."

"What can you expect we see when we get there? Demon... angel? There's no way a monster could obtain this much information." Rowan looked over at her little sister and Ellena shook her head,

"I honestly don't know. I haven't met a demon yet who knows this much about Dean and Sam."

"Well... I haven't met a whole lot of angels so I guess we can say that's our best bet." Rowan kept her hands shoved in her pocket,

"Dean and Sam are on their way." Ellena slipped her phone back in her pocket, "This is it." The two sisters stopped outside a small house and Rowan pulled her gun from her jacket. Ellena narrowed her eyes,

"Don't pull your gun out! We don't even know if he's a threat or not!"

"Better safe than sorry." Rowan felt Ellena snatch the pistol out of her hand, "Hey!"

"I'm holding this for now." Ellena shoved the gun in the inner pocket of her jacket, ignoring the childish pout on Rowan's face. Ellena pushed open the white picket fence gate and the Rogan sisters stopped at the top of the stairs, staring at the heavy wooden door. They quickly exchanged blue eyed stares at each other and Rowan extended her hand, knocking on the door.

She could hear footsteps slowly rolling towards the door and Rowan held her breath, concentrating all her energy to her eyes. The door pulled open and Rowan stared with confusion at the meek, bearded man that stared back at them. His lips parted briefly at the sight of two beautiful women standing on his front porch. He pulled his robe closed and hid halfway behind the door,

"C-can I help you?"

"Are you Chuck Shirley?" Ellena asked and the man's blue eyes glanced at her, "The Chuck Shirley who wrote the Supernatural books?"

"Yeah... that's me."

"He doesn't have a face." Rowan looked over at Ellena and Chuck looked at Rowan confused.

"I don't have a face?"

"I don't see it either. Maybe he's just human?" Ellena stared over at her sister and ignored Chuck, who listened to the sisters awkwardly. Rowan shook her head,

"I don't know... There's something off about him... that's for sure." Rowan stared at Chuck from head to toe, trying to put her finger on it. Chuck shook his head,

"Excuse me, who are you two?"

"Friends of Sam and Dean." Ellena said and Rowan nodded her head,

"The _real_ Sam and Dean. The ones you've been writing about." Chuck stared at Rowan and then smiled. With a nod, and without a word, he stepped back from the door and shut it in their faces. Rowan sneered, "Ugh... rude!" Ellena pressed the doorbell again and the door opened after another few seconds,

"Look, uh... I appreciate your enthusiasm, I really do and it's nice to hear from the fans but for your own good, I strongly suggest you get a life." Chuck went to shut the door but Rowan slammed her hand against it, keeping his from shutting it. Chuck stared at her a bit shocked,

"Oh, we have a life. But you... you don't." Rowan shoved into the house just as she heard the Impala pull up to the house. Ellena stayed on the porch as she waited for the boys, Rowan stopping in the living room as Chuck backtracked at her sudden invasion.

"This the guy?" Dean asked menacingly and Rowan looked over her shoulder at Dean and Sam as they walked into the house,

"Oh yeah... it's him."

"Hi Chuck. We're Sam and Dean. The one's you've been writing about in those dumb little books of yours." Dean smiled sarcastically while staring at the meek man. Chuck took another could steps back,

"Now wait a minute, this isn't funny!"

"Damn straight it's not funny!" Dean's voice became hostile and Rowan put her hand on his arm,

"Now, now... easy on the little guy."

"We just want to know how you're doing it." Sam said with his voice calm and collected.

"I'm not doing anything!" Chuck shook his head and Dean's face was less than amused,

"You a hunter?"

"What? No... I'm a writer!" Chuck breathed and Dean walked towards him,

"Then how do you know so much about demons? Vampires? Changelings!?" Dean back Chuck back up against the couch and Chuck fell back on it, staring fearfully up at Dean,

"Is this some kind of _Misery_ thing?" Chuck stared into each other pairs of eyes that stared down at him. "It is, isn't it!? It's a Misery thing!"

"This is not a Misery thing! Believe me, we are not fans!" Dean shook his head and Chuck shook his head,

"What do you want!?"

"I'm Sam... and that's Dean." Sam nodded towards Dean, who continued to stare at Chuck for answers. Chuck began to become frustrated,

"Sam and Dean are fictional characters! I made them up! They're not real!"

"How the hell are we going to convince this guy?" Dean looked back at Sam and Ellena's blue eyes found them both,

"You two have the Impala, show him you equipment." Dean and Sam nodded at each other, Dean leaning down and grabbing Chuck's arm,

"Come on Twitchy."

"Where are you taking me?" Chuck asked and Dean pushed him out the door and down the stairs towards the Impala. Rowan, Sam, and Ellena followed him to the truck as Dean pulled it open and flipped up the secret compartment. Chuck stared in awe,

"Are those real guns?"

"Yeap." Dean leaned in and began to point out all the equipment, "This is real rock salt, real fake ID's..."

"I gotta hand it to you guys... you really are my number one fans..." Chuck smiled and laughed to himself, staring at the intimidating brothers. Rowan smacked him on the back of the head,

"Don't you get it!? This isn't make believe!" Chuck stared at Rowan and shook his head, walking past her,

"I think I've got some posters in the house... I'll sign some and-"

"Chuck, stop!" Dean demanded and Chuck stopped dead in his tracks, staring at Dean.

"Please, wait, please don't hurt me!"

"How much do you know?" Sam asked while staring down at Chuck, "Do you know about the angels? About Lilith breaking the seals?" Chuck's face turned confused,

"Wait, how do you know about that?"

"Question is... how do you?" Dean asked and Chuck's eyes flickered back and forth from the brothers,

"Cuz I wrote it?"

"You kept writing?" Rowan asked and Chuck looked to her,

"Yeah, even after the publisher went bankrupt... but the books never came out." The four exchanged glances with each other and Chuck paused, smiling, "This is some kind of joke, right? Did that...? Did Phil put you up to this?" Dean stared at Chuck as the man barely was hearing a word they were saying.

"Well hi there... I'm Dean Winchester and this is my brother Sam." Chuck's smile dropped and he stared at Sam and Dean in shock,

"The last names were never in the books... I never told anybody about that; I didn't even write that down..." Chuck stared at the ground and then turned around towards his house, looking over his shoulder and waving his hand, "All of you... come in."

"Bout time he sucked it into that little brain of his. Thought I had to knock him into next week." Rowan smiled and pursued after Chuck. The four entered the house and Chuck instantly went to the liquor that was stacked on a shelf by his desk. He poured himself a shot of whiskey and downed it quickly before slamming the glass down on the table.

"Oh! Ugh... you're still there!" Chuck rubbed his head as he turned around, seeing the four standing behind his work desk and half wishing they would disappear after his drink.

"Yeap." Dean tucked his hands in his pockets and Chuck stared at him disapprovingly,

"You're not a hallucination..."

"Afraid not, darling. Do you mind?" Rowan asked while stopping in front of the liquor and eyeballing the whiskey. Chuck shook his head and Rowan's hand quickly poured herself a shot of the dark alcohol. Chuck shook his head and walked towards the chair at his desk,

"Well... there's no explanation. Obviously, I'm a god."

"I wouldn't go that far, cowboy." Rowan laughed to herself, as well as Sam,

"You're not a god..."

"How else do you explain it?" Chuck asked while staring at Sam, "I write things and then they come to life? Man, no I'm definitely a god... a cool, cool, capricious god!" Chuck's eyes began to water and a wash of grief blew over him, "The things I put you guys through... the physical beatings alone!"

"We're still in one piece..." Dean leaned on the wall and Chuck shook his head,

"I killed your father... burned your mother alive. Then you had to go through the same, horrific thing with Jessica-"

"Chuck!" Sam interjected, but Chuck continued,

"All for what!? All for the sake of literary symmetry!" Chuck turned around and looked through a window, "I toyed with your lives... your emotions for... entertainment!"

"You toyed with us, Chuck, but you didn't create us." Dean shoved off the wall and walked towards him, Chuck turning around quickly to face the older Winchester,

"Did you really have to live through the bugs?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded and Chuck's eyes widened,

"What about the ghost ship?" Dean nodded at him,

"Yeah, that too."

"I am... so sorry. I mean, horrors one thing but to be forced by bad writing... if I'd known it was, I would've done a different pass!"

"Chuck! You're not a god!"

"We think you're probably just... psychic." Sam said and Chuck shook his head,

"If I was psychic, you'd think I be writing? Writing is hard!"

"It seems somehow... it's focused on our lives!" Dean nodded at his brother and shrugged his shoulders,

"Yeah like... laser focused." Chuck gagged and Dean narrowed his eyes, "Are you working on anything right now?"

"Holy crap..." Chuck looked up at the ceiling and Dean leaned forward,

"What?" He asked and watched as Chuck grabbed a stack of papers and lifted them up,

"The uh... latest book... its kinda weird."

"Weirder than what we're doing now?" Rowan asked from the sidelines as she sipped on her glass of whiskey. Chuck nodded and rubbed his scruffy and untamed beard,

"It's very... Vonnegut."

"Slaughter House 5 Vonnegut or Cats in the Cradle Vonnegut?" Dean now leaned over the desk and Sam looked at him dumfounded,

"What?"

"What?" Looked back at Sam and Chuck shook his head,

"It's uh... Killgore Tout Vonnegut. I wrote myself into it. I wrote myself, in my house... confronted by my characters..."

"Oh boy... didn't see that one coming." Rowan stared at Chuck and rested her whiskey glass on the table behind her. The boys looked to Rowan as she walked up to them, "Glad I'm not in your boys' position."

**.:=:.**

Rowan lied on Chuck's couch, tossing a ball up in the air. Sam, Dean, and Ellena long left, Rowan volunteering to stay behind and watch Chuck. She kept a close eye on him, hearing his furious fingers typing on the computer on his desk. He whispered and mumbled under his breath as he wrote down his thoughts and continued the story of Sam and Dean Winchester. Rowan hummed in her throat a song, and briefly, the words escaped her lips in a soft and beautiful tone. Chuck's fingers stopped on the keyboard and his ears listened in on her voice. He leaned back in his chair, staring at her burning red hair,

"You've got a beautiful voice." He said, causing Rowan to stare over her him. The ball landed back in her hand without her looking,

"Thanks..."

"You said your name was Rowan? Rowan Rogan?"

"Sure did." Rowan tossed the ball back up in the air and caught it swiftly. Chuck nodded,

"And your sister... her names Ellena, isn't it?" Chuck asked and Rowan caught the ball, narrowing her eyes as she looked at him. Leaning up on the couch, she tilted her head,

"You see us too... don't you?" She asked and Chuck nodded meekly. He folded his hands on his lap,

"Not as much as Sam and Dean, of course... you're just part of the story. But you guys, you're sort of new to me."

"How so?" Rowan asked curiously as she stood up and walked over to his desk, sitting on the edge of it. Chuck's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared up at her,

"Ellena came first... I wrote about her and Dean's encounters in hell. Then you... when you showed up and saved Sam and Dean from that shapeshifter..." Chuck sighed and rubbed his head, "But I'm starting to see more and more of you two... it's just really weird. When you showed up on my front steps, and I saw what you two looked like, I knew it was too good to be true. It kinda freaked me out cuz no one knew who you were beside me... I couldn't tell if you were fans or the real thing."

"Well... now you know." Rowan's eyes dropped to the ground and she thought for a moment, "So you know Crowley's after me?"

"Yeah... because of your deal." Chuck nodded at her, "And when you were on the verge of death... and the deal you made with the angels."

"You can't tell anyone about it." Rowan shook her head and Chuck sighed,

"I wasn't going to. It's your characters- I mean- your ultimate secret, right?"

"My sister can't know about it. She'll kill me."

"And that means, you can't know about your sister, either." Chuck voiced, but quickly tried to take it back. Rowan narrowed her eyes,

"What do you mean I can't know about her?"

"Listen... Dean and Sam have their secrets they keep from each other and you and Ellena have your own secrets. I know about them all but I'll leave it up to you to talk to her about it."

"Is it bad?" Rowan asked and Chuck sat staring past her, contemplating on what to say. He tilted his head and shook it,

"Not to me, it's not... but that's up to you to decide."

"Now you've got me curious." Rowan smiled stood back to her feet, "But I won't kill you over it. You're too nice." She sat back down on the couch, resting her arms on the back as she stared at Chuck with a grin, "Tell me how much you know about me."

"As in...?"

"I don't know... family, friends, personality... anything." Rowan shrugged a shoulder and he sighed, leaning back in his swivel chair. He stroked his beard,

"You were born on October thirty first, Halloween of nineteen eighty three. Your mom walked out on you when you were seven years old and to compensate for you're the pain you started singing. Your dad started taking you and Ellena out on hunting trips when you turned nine, Ellena was seven. You killed your first monster, which was a werewolf, when you were eleven... uh..." Chuck continued to debate information in his head, "You've only slept with three men in your entire life... turned down a proposal by a good friend of yours, who really wanted to marry you. You have a hard time trusting people, even your sister after she showed up from hell. You're very perverted, gung ho, and... attractive. You think Dean is attractive and wish-"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Rowan put her hand up with a smile, "Whatever you're going to say, it's not true."

"Come on... you're talking to the almighty Chuck." Chuck scoffed and leaned forward in his chair, "Have I been wrong about anything else?" Rowan pouted and shook her head,

"Don't-"

"Tell anyone... yeah, yeah I know what you're capable of I'd rather not be skinned alive today..."

**.:=:.**

Ellena popped into the motel room the next morning, carrying a bag of Krispy Kreme's and hot chocolate once again. Rowan walked out of the bathroom, toothbrush scraping against her teeth in a swirl. Rowan's hand halted and she stared at the bag of donuts, almost spitting out the mouthful of toothpaste upon its sight. Ellena laughed to herself and pulled off her jacket, "Good morning sunshine."

"Ellena I swear you're going to make me fat!" Rowan said carefully to make sure her mouthful of toothpaste didn't dribble down her chin. Rushing back into the bathroom, Rowan spit out the toothpaste and rinsed out her mouth. With a quick wipe from a towel, she returned to the room and saw Ellena sitting down at the table, eating a donut.

"Excuse me? Those are mine!"

"What? Just because I'm a demon, and don't get hungry, doesn't mean I can't enjoy the finer things in my tortured life." Ellena took another bite of the donut and leaned back in the chair. Rowan quickly took a seat and reached her hand into the bag, pulling out a donut disappointingly,

"You didn't get a dozen...?" Rowan looked at Ellena with a pout. Ellena huffed,

"I thought you didn't want to get _fat_?" She asked and Rowan groaned, taking a bite of the savory pastry and taking in its mouthy ecstasy. A knock came to the door and Ellena and Rowan looked to each other before Ellena jumped up to open it. Sam stood, hands in his pockets,

"Dean's waiting for us in the Impala."

"Why?" Rowan asked from the table, sipping on her hot chocolate. Sam leaned his head in through the door,

"Chuck called... says he needs to talk to us about something." Sam narrowed his eyes and found the bag on the table, "Are those Krispy Kreme donuts?"

"Eyes off Gigantor before I cut them out of your face and make you eat them." Rowan warned while grabbing the bag and her coat from the table. She rushed past Ellena and Sam to the back of the Impala, hiding the bag of donuts in her coat before Dean had the chance to attack her for them.

The Impala came to a stop outside Chuck's house and the girls stepped out of the back, the boys, from the front. Rowan walked up to the door and pushed it open, seeing Chuck sitting at his desk, this time, in standard clothing and not his robe. Chuck took notice to their appearance, Sam closing the wooden door behind him, "Go ahead and take a seat anywhere..." Chuck said and grabbed a stack of papers. Rowan and Ellena propped themselves on the couch while Dean and Sam took seats in a couple chairs. Chuck stroked his beard and walked in front of them, staring down at a stack of papers in his hands.

"So... you wrote another chapter?" Sam asked, trying to get the conversation started. Chuck sighed,

"This was all so much easier before you guys were real..."

"We can take it... just spit it out." Dean said straightforward, waiting for Chuck to get on with it. Chuck stared back at Dean,

"You and Ellena especially... are not going to like this."

"Well, we didn't like hell." Dean glanced at Ellena briefly before looking back at Chuck. Chuck hesitated, but ultimately spit it out,

"It's Lilith... she's coming for Sam."

"Wait... what?" Ellena jumped to her feet and Dean narrowed his eyes,

"Coming... to kill him?"

"When?" Sam asked and pushed off the chair, staring at Chuck for an answer,

"Tonight." Chuck looked over at Sam and Dean shook his head,

"She's just going to show up here?" Chuck placed his glasses on his face and sat down next to Rowan, Rowan leaning forward and watching him carefully. He rummaged through the papers in his hand and cleared his throat,

"Lilith... patted the bed seductively. Unable to battle his desires, Sam succumbed and they sank into the throws of fiery, demonic passion." Chuck read straight from the paper and looked up at Dean, gauging his reaction. Rowan narrowed her eyes and looked to Sam,

"You're gonna be bumping uglies with Lilith?" She asked and Sam began to laugh, staring down at Chuck in disbelief,

"You're kidding me, right?"

"You think this is funny?" Ellena asked and Sam quickly looked to her,

"You don't!? I mean come on! Fiery demonic passion?"

"I-it's just a first draft..." Chuck defended and Dean put up his hand,

"Wait, wait, wait... Lilith is a little girl."

"That makes Sam a pedo..." Rowan joked and Chuck looked to Dean with a shake of his head,

"No uh... this time she's a comely dental hygienist from Bloomington, Indiana."

"Great... perfect..." Dean said sickeningly and glared at Sam, "So what happens after the... fiery demonic, whatever?"

"I don't know... it hasn't come to me yet."

"Dean! Come on, there's nothing to worry about. Lilith and me... in bed!?" Dean stared over at him, as well as Ellena as she narrowed her eyes. Rowan looked to Chuck,

"How's this psychic thing of yours work?"

"You mean my process?" He asked and Rowan shrugged her shoulder,

"Sure."

"Well... it usually starts with a headache..." Chuck rubbed his hands on his cheeks, "A really bad... headache. Aspirin is useless so I drink... until I fall asleep. The first time it happened I just thought it was a crazy dream."

"The first time you dreamt about us?" Dean asked and Chuck nodded, continuing,

"It flowed... it just kept flowing! It still does, I can't stop it really."

"You can't seriously believe-" Sam smiled and then Dean cut him off,

"Humor me!"

"I'm glad you're taking this seriously, Sam." Ellena crossed her arms and glared at him. Sam sighed and turned,

"It's just all so stupid for you guys to think I'm dumb enough to go along with it."

"It's not stupid. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. Lillith is getting stronger by the day; you don't know her like I do."

"And how do you know her so well?" Rowan asked while narrowing her eyes at her little sister. Ellena looked to her,

"Because I was Alistair's leading torture agent... I've had plenty of time to get to know Lilith. She's the worst of the worst."

"Look... why don't we just-" Dean stood up and walked to Chuck, stopping when he saw Chuck giving him the stack of papers in his hands. Dean took them and glanced over at Sam, "Take a look at these and see what's what's what." Sam scoffed and shook his head. Dean looked down at Chuck,

"You-"

"Knew you were going to ask for that... yeah." Chuck nodded while finishing Dean's sentence. Dean nodded and Rowan stood to her feet,

"Well... what do we do now?"

"Try to fix this. Lilith's going to kill Sam if she gets the chance." Ellena voiced, causing Sam to look over at her questioningly. Dean put his hand up,

"We won't let her have that chance."

"Well, to avoid a fight let's just go pack up our stuff and get the hell outta Dodge. If we get Sam out of here then we don't have to worry about what Sam will or won't do." Rowan said and looked over her shoulder at Chuck, "You gonna be alright by yourself?"

"Yeah..." Chuck nodded and stood to his feet, "I'll call you guys if I get anymore visions."

In a rush, the brothers and sisters packed up all their things and stuffed them in the trunk Dean's precious car. The Impala blazed down the road, the cab quiet and awkward between the two pairs of siblings. Rowan noticed Ellena's leg bouncing anxiously, her arms crossed as her blue eyes stared out the window. Rowan cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her seat with a sigh, glaring out the window as well. Dean kept his eyes staring out through the windshield as Sam read the papers that Chuck gave him. He still didn't believe Chuck's power; there had to have been a way around his visions.

"Dean... come on!" Sam sighed and straightened out the papers to read an excerpt from the vision, "The minivan accident wasn't that bad... but Dean was still seeing stars. He scratched absently at the pink flower band aids on his face."

"That's cute." Rowan smirked and Dean smiled to himself as well,

"So?"

"So, I've seen you gushing blood you'd use duct tape and bar rags before using pink flower band aids."

"What's your point?" Ellena asked from behind him and Sam shook his head,

"My point is this, all of this, it's totally implausible and nuts!"

"Well he's been right about everything so far. You think he's gonna ground out a verse now?" Rowan asked and Sam sighed frustratingly, staring back down at the papers. He huffed and read another excerpt,

"Dean sat behind the wheel of his beloved Impala and drove off... the plastic tarp of the rear window flapping like the wings of a crow."

"A tarp?" Dean asked and Sam looked over his shoulder at the back window,

"Yeah, on the rear window. Like you drive it like that..." Sam said doubtfully and shook his head. Dean shook his head,

"He may be wrong about the details, that doesn't mean he's wrong about the end result."

"So we're just gonna run?" Sam asked and Dean sighed,

"Ellena's right... we are a _long_ way from a face to face death match with Lilith!"

"Thank you." Ellena mumbled in the backseat. Sam shook his head and looked out the window,

"I think I can manage myself just fine..."

"What?" Dean asked and Sam huffed, looking at his older brother,

"I said... I can manage myself just fine. I'm strong enough to take Lilith on."

"You keep telling yourself that, Sam. It's just going to get you killed." Ellena stared annoyingly at Sam and Sam wheeled around over the seat to look at her,

"Just stay out of our business! You don't know anything about me!"

"Oh really? Mr. Sam Winchester, Azazel's prize champion with demon blood running through his veins. Sam Winchester, who scurries around in the dark with his dirty little secrets... I'm here for a reason; to save your life before you get your idiotic self killed!"

Rowan looked over to see Ellena had disappeared from the back seat, "Ellena!?" She called, but her sister didn't reappear in the seat. Rowan huffed and looked at Sam, "Good job... you pissed her off."

"What the hell is this?" Dean asked and Rowan leaned forward as the Impala slowly came to a stop. They all stared at a roadblock in the middle of the street and a sheriff took notice to them. He walked up to the car and Dean rolled down his window, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Bridge is out ahead..." The sheriff said bluntly and Dean looked back at the roadblock,

"We're just tryin' to get outta town."

"Yeah, afraid not," The sheriff shook his head and Dean pushed on,

"Is there a detour?"

"Nope."

"Is there a side road that'll take us to the highway?" Rowan asked from behind and the sheriff glanced at her,

"To get to the highway you have to cross that river." The sheriff nodded back to the roadblock, "To cross the river you have to take _that_ bridge."

"How deeps the river?" Rowan asked again and the sheriff snorted,

"Sorry... afraid you guys are gonna have to stay the night in town." Dean and Sam looked at each other and Dean sighed, waving at the sheriff as he backed the Impala up to turn around. Rowan shoved back against the seat,

"Well... there goes plan B." Dean looked at her through the rearview mirror,

"We just gotta think up a plan C."

**.:=:.**

Rowan waited in the passenger's seat of the Impala, Dean and Sam in their new motel room on the other side of town. The plan was to leave Sam in the room; lock him up tight without any transportation to avoid following Chuck's vision. Rowan stared at the motel door, seeing it crack open and watching Dean stepped halfway out. Dean stopped and said a few last words to Sam, Rowan smirking when she saw Sam's laptop tucked under Dean's arm. Rowan rested her arm on the door frame and Dean swung open his door and stepped in, tossing the laptop onto Rowan's lap. He started the roaring engine and Rowan smirked, "Surprised he is so willing to stay."

"I told him to watch some porn. So maybe he'll take my advice for once." Dean laughed and Rowan shook her head, "I should make you stay here and watch him, though."

"Now that's just sick..." Rowan sneered and Dean huffed,

"Not so you can watch him watch porn you freak! To make sure he doesn't go anywhere or do anything that was in Chuck's vision!" Dean explained and Rowan's mind relieved itself,

"Oh... well that's no fun. Besides, I know for a fact Ellena's keeping an eye on him. We don't have to worry about Sam much." Rowan felt the car roll across the concrete and off into the street, "Let's just go get this thing parked and get on with it."

Dean and Rowan ended up in the suburbs, Dean parking his precious car on the side of the road. They were only a few blocks away from the motel and walking back would be no problem at all. Rowan's deep red hair bounced against her back as she stepped out of the Impala, shutting the door and waiting for Dean to follow. "Did you lock your door?" He asked while shutting his and Rowan nodded,

"Sure did."

"Well check again." He ordered and Rowan sighed, grabbing the door handle to check its status. She walked around the back of the Impala,

"It's locked." She breathed and watched Dean check his door at least three times. Rowan tucked her hands in her pockets, "You might as well get padlocks for the friggen thing. Quit being so paranoid."

"I won't!" Dean turned around and walked away from the Impala. Rowan followed after him and stopped when he did as Dean threw a cautious glance back at his baby one last time.

"Come on, come on..." Rowan pushed on his shoulder and Dean walked quickly across the street. The two jumped on the sidewalk and began to march back towards the motel. Rowan eyeballed a few people that passed them, keeping her eyes forward and she was now next to Dean. She heard a creaking noise but ignored it; but Dean didn't. His instincts told him otherwise and he turned around to see a pair of men trying to break into the Impala.

"Hey!?" He shouted and began to run across the street. Rowan turned around and saw a van barreling towards him,

"Dean!?" She gasped and pressed her hands against her mouth after the van slammed into him, knocking him down the street a few feet. Rowan's legs jumped out from under her as she ran towards him, his body not moving, "Dean!? Oh shit!" Rowan knelt down next to him and placed her hand on his cheek, not receiving any type of response. She lightly smacked his cheek, "Dean! Come on, wake up!"

"Oh god! Oh god, is he alright!?" A woman jumped out of the maroon van, a long set of star earrings hanging from her ears. She knelt down next to Rowan, "I didn't see him! He came out of nowhere!"

"It's not your fault... don't worry." Rowan quickly reassured the woman and looked back down at Dean, witnessing his unconscious state. Rowan heard a crash of glass and looked over her shoulder, seeing the thieves had broken the back window out of the Impala. Rowan looked to the woman with a charming smile, "Excuse me for a moment..." Rowan jumped up to her feet and marched over to the thieves, seeing one trying to crawl in through the back window. "Hey assholes!" Rowan called and one of the thieves looked at her,

"If you know what's good for you, you'll take your pretty ass and high tail it outta here!" He warned and Rowan only smiled, walking up to him and punching him straight in the face. The thief dropped to the ground, holding his now bloody nose, and Rowan took action with the man hanging halfway out of the back window. She grabbed the lip of his pants and yanked him out, throwing him to the ground. Her keen ears picked up footsteps and she wheeled around, grabbing the crowbar in his partners hand before it had the chance to strike her. Rowan smirked at the sight of his frightened eyes and she shoved her foot into his stomach, ripping the crowbar from his hands. Rowan swung it back around behind her, knocking its heavy steel against the other thief's back. As soon as they recovered, the two jumped up and hobbled away as quickly as they could, not wanting to try to take Rowan on.

She dropped the crowbar to the ground and returned to Dean's side as soon as she saw him beginning to stir, "Dean? Dean, can you hear me?" All she could hear was him groan and she smiled at the sight of three pink flower band aids pressed on the left side of his face. A crowd began to gather and the woman who hit him stared down at him apologetically,

"Oh thank god... just take it easy, you're going to be okay!" Dean's eyes opened and he stared up at Rowan, her red hair falling in her face.

"Easy now Pretty Boy... you took that hit pretty hard."

"Stars..." Dean groaned while staring at her earrings and the woman looked at him confused,

"What was that?" Dean ignored her and slowly leaned up, Rowan helping him with her hands placed steadily on his back. The woman shook her head, "I'm so sorry! I just didn't see you... are you okay!?"

Dean began to take in his surroundings and his eyes found Rowan. She kept her grip tight on his arm as he fully lifted himself. The woman driving the van smiled, "I'm sorry about... you know. My daughters going through a doctor phase."

"What're you talking about?" Dean groaned and the little girl stood next to him with a smile,

"You're better now!" Dean's eyes grazed past the little girl and he soon found the Impala, seeing the broken out back window.

"Oh no!" Dean growled and got to his feet, stumbling along the way. Rowan jumped to her feet as well,

"Dean-!" She quickly swung around to face the crowd, a smile on her face as she put her hands up, "I'll make sure to get him to a hospital! Don't worry about it!" Rowan quickly turned and pursued after Dean, jogging after him and seeing him staring sadly at his baby. She put a hand on Dean's shoulder, "Hey man... take it easy."

"I'm fine. Just get in the car." Dean ordered and Rowan sighed, walking around the side of the Impala and opening the passenger's door. She snickered when she saw Dean notice the band aids on his face. He angrily picked them off and tossed them on the ground,

"Oh come on... I thought they were adorable!" Rowan said as she pulled her door shut. Dean tossed her an annoyed glance and started the Impala. Rowan tilted her head, "If it makes you feel any better... I kicked their asses for you."

"That makes me feel a little better..." Dean nodded and shoved the car in gear.

**.:=:.**

Dean pulled up to Chuck's house in an abrupt stop, causing Rowan to lurch forward. She looked over at his angry face, "And we're here why?"

"I'm going to give Chuck a piece of my mind... this is just getting ridiculous." Dean glared over at her and opened the car door. Hearing no retort from her smart mouth, the two stepped out of the car and walked up his stairs. Rowan knocked on the hardwood door and tucked her hands in her back pockets, hearing Dean groaned and watching him rub his head. Rowan heard no footsteps on the other side of the door and she knocked again.

Still no response.

"Ugh... you've got to be kidding me." Dean grumbled and after Rowan tried to open the locked door, she pulled out a small box from inside her pocket. Dean watched her curiously as she pulled out her lock pick and leaned down towards the lock, placing the picks in and fumbling around. In an instant, the door pushed open and Rowan quickly tucked her supplies back in her jacket. "How'd you do that so fast?"

"Years of experience..." Rowan smiled at Dean's surprise and motioned him inside. He stumbled in and found on of Chuck's chairs, sitting down in it and sighing in relief. Rowan shut the door and walked over towards Chuck's desk, grabbing two glasses and pouring in some whiskey.

"How do you feel?" Rowan asked while sitting on the arm of the chair, handing Dean the small glass of whiskey. Dean looked up at her and took it, bringing the glass to his lips,

"Worse than I look..."

"I told you to be careful."

"What are you, my mom?" Dean asked and Rowan scoffed, taking a drink of her liquor,

"I might as well be."

"Oh man... my head..." Dean rubbed his temples with his fingers and groaned. Rowan heard the door open and looked up, thankful that they didn't have to wait so long for Chuck to arrive. He slowly walked in once he saw Rowan and Dean sitting on his chair, Rowan standing to her feet once he fully walked into the room. Dean glared at Chuck,

"Dean... Rowan." He acknowledged them with a nod and Dean growled,

"You knew we'd be here."

"You took terrible..." Chuck said awkwardly, his groceries still piled in his hands. Dean huffed,

"That's because I just got hit by a minivan, Chuck." Chuck lowered his eyes and nodded,

"Oh..." Dean stared at Chuck and leaned forward in the leather chair as it creaked under his weight,

"Is that it? Every damn thing you write about me is true... and that's all you can say is '_Oh'_!?" Dean's tone turned angry and Rowan looked down at him,

"Easy there, Dean."

"Please don't yell at me." Chuck asked and placed a six pack of beer down at the table. Dean got to his feet and approached Chuck,

"Why do I get the feeling... there's something you're not telling us?" Dean asked and Rowan felt his malicious intent,

"Dean." She warned and Dean continued to ignore her,

"What wouldn't I be telling you?" Chuck asked and looked past Dean to Rowan for help. Dean's voice raised another notch,

"How you know what you know for starters!"

"I don't know how I know I just do!"

"That's not good enough." Dean's hand wrapped around Chuck's neck and he slammed him up against the wall,

"Dean, stop!" Rowan grabbed his arm, angry that he continued to ignore her.

"How the hell are you doing this!?"

"Dean! Let him go!"

Dean and Rowan turned abruptly at the sound of Castiel's voice. Rowan stared into her friends familiar blue eyes for the first time in days, "Cas?"

"This man is to be protected."

"Why?" Dean asked and Castiel's gaze fell upon Dean,

"Because he's a prophet of the Lord."

"A... a prophet? Like, how?" Rowan asked confused as she narrowed his eyes at Castiel. She glanced back at Chuck momentarily as he stared at Castiel, as if knowing him,

"You... you're Castiel... aren't you?"

"It's an honor to meet you, Chuck. I admire your work." Castiel turned and picked up a Supernatural book from a table, staring at it.

"Woah, woah... this guy, a prophet!?" Dean was just as doubtful as Rowan was, "Come on he's practically a penthouse forum writer!" Chuck moved around the three nervously, picking up two beers in his hand and taking a seat in the chair where Dean was earlier stationed. He began to pull off the caps, "Did you know about this!?"

"I uh... I might've dreamt about it." Chuck twisted off the cap of the beer,

"And you didn't tell us!?"

"It was too preposterous! Not to mention, arrogant! I mean, writing yourself into the story is one thing, and then writing yourself as a prophet!? That's like M. Night level douchiness!" Chuck brought the beer to his lips and took a huge swig of the beer. Rowan crossed her arms and smiled, walking towards Chuck,

"I knew there was something special about you..."

"This is the guy that decides our fate!?" Dean asked angrily towards Castiel, who continued to flip through the pages of the Supernatural book,

"He isn't deciding anything. He's a mouthpiece... a conduit for the inspired word."

"So he's a scribe?" Rowan turned around towards Castiel, "He who plays what has been written?"

"The word... the word of God!? Like the new, new testament!?" Dean asked in disbelief and Castiel nodded,

"One day these books will be known as The Winchester Gospel."

"You lucky little bastards." Rowan breathed and Dean's eyes widened,

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"I am not kidding you." Castiel replied and stared back at Dean with that same old Castiel glare. Chuck uncomfortably got up from his seat and cradled his liquor in his arms, rushing past them,

"If you three will excuse me, please..." He rushed up the stairs and disappeared from their sight. Dean looked back at Castiel,

"Him? Really!?"

"You should've seen Luke..." Castiel shook his head and looked back at Dean. Dean walked past him, not believing what was going on. Rowan glanced over at Castiel,

"How'd he get tapped?"

"I don't know how prophets are chosen... the order comes from a high celestial chain of command."

"How high?" Rowan asked curiously and Castiel stared at her unemotionally,

"Very."

"How do we get around this?" Dean turned back around to Rowan and Castiel, trying to search for answers,

"Around what?" Castiel asked confused and Dean looked to the ground,

"This Sam/Lilith love connection how do we stop this from happening!?"

"What the prophet has written... cannot be unwritten." Castiel explained without loopholes, "As he explained... so shall it come to pass..."

"We need to get back to Sam... quick. It's starting to get dark." Rowan broke the tension, "If we have any way to stop it we better figure it out. Cas can we-" Rowan turned to see Castiel had already disappeared from the scene and she sighed, groaning to herself. Dean grabbed her arm and towed her towards the door,

"Let's go, Sweetheart!"

**.:=:.**

Dean and Rowan charged through their motel room's door, seeing Sam jumping up from the bed to see them entering. Dean head back towards the bed, grabbing his back and throwing his belongings back in, "Come on, Sam, we're getting out of here."

"What? Where!?"

"Out of this motel, out of this town, I don't care if we have to swim, we are getting out!" Dean looked around the room, brushing past Rowan as he looked on a table. "Where are all the hex bags?"

"I burned them..." Sam admitted and Dean looked to him dumfounded,

"You what?"

"Look, if Lilith is coming, which is a big _if_..."

"It's more than a big _if_." Rowan unfolded her arms and stepped towards Sam, "Chuck isn't a psychic... he's a prophet of the Big Daddy upstairs."

"What?"

"Cas showed up and apparently Chuck is writing the Gospel of us." Dean explained briefly and Sam began to look confused at the new information.

"Okay...?"

"Okay! Let's get the hell outta here then." Rowan smacked her hands together and Dean brushed past Sam back to his bag. Sam shook his head at Rowan,

"No..."

"Lilith is gonna slaughter you! Ellena said it herself." Rowan argued,

"Ellena might be wrong... maybe she will, maybe she won't." Dean turned around and walked towards Sam,

"So you think you can take her?"

"There's only one way to find out Dean and I say bring her on."

"Sam!" Dean stopped him and Sam only shook his head,

"You think I'll do it, don't you... you think I'll go darkside."

"Yes!" Dean shouted and Sam only sighed, "Okay, yes! The way you've been acting lately, the things you've been doing..." He saw the look Sam gave him and Dean narrowed his eyes, "Oh I know... how you ripped Alistair apart like you were swattin' a fly. Rowan told me..."

"What else did she tell you?"

"Nothin' I don't already know. She's concerned about you Sam... and I am too. That you've been using your psychic crap, the you've been getting stronger and we don't know why, we don't know how!"

"It's not what you think..."

"Then what is it Sam!? Because I'm at a total loss!" Dean argued angrily, Sam only staring at Dean, trying to figure out what to say. Sam continued to stay silent, Rowan shifting in the uncomfortable silence and watched Dean nod. He turned around and grabbed his bag, knowing what his little brother wanted. As he moved past Sam he stopped, turning to face him, "Are you coming or not?"

"No..." Sam voiced sternly and Dean sighed, turning to leave out the door. He stopped yet again and shoved his bag down on the chair, slamming the door behind him. Sam let his deep breath out softly and Rowan turned her head over to face him,

"Have you seen my sister?" She asked and Sam only shook his head. Rowan grabbed the door handle, stopping upon hearing Sam's voice,

"If I'm not able to kill Lilith..." Rowan looked over her shoulder, "Will you do it?"

"No..." She replied plainly with the shake of her head, "I'm not strong enough to kill her level of demon." Rowan admitted and pulled open the door, disappearing behind it.

Rowan looked around and finally found Dean standing next to a soda dispenser. He kicked in angrily, stepping back with a sigh and rubbing his forehead tiredly. Rowan walked up slowly, her arms crossed as she leaned on the wall, "Thirsty, Pretty Boy?" She asked softly and Dean looked up at her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple quarters, turning around the soda machine and shoving them in through the dispenser. Pressing a button, she heard the machine heeding her command as it retrieved a soda for her drinking pleasure.

"What am I going to do, Rowan?" He asked and Rowan turned around to face him, "I don't know what to do with him anymore... he just won't listen."

"Sam's his own man... and I know he's your little brother and you want to protect him the best you can but sometimes... you just can't." Rowan stepped off the sidewalk and stopped a few inches away from him, "Pray, Dean. Sometimes... you just have to pray."

Dean stared into her bright blue eyes as they offered him consolation. He nodded and looked down at the ground, slightly uncomfortable as he took her advice into determination, "Well... I feel stupid for doing this..." Dean stared back into her eyes and took a couple steps back before turning around. He stared up at the sky and sighed, slapping his hands down at his sides, "I am fresh outta options... so please... I need some help."

Rowan looked up at the sky, waiting for some type of sign to come to Dean. Dean continued to speak, "I'm prayin', alright!? Please!"

"Prayer is a sign of faith." Rowan's heart leapt when Castiel appeared behind her. She jumped out of the way and took a deep breath, resting her forehead against her hand. Dean turned around to face Castiel, Cas ignoring Rowan's frightened, pounding heart, "This is a good thing, Dean."

"So does that mean you'll help me?"

"I'm not sure there's much I can do..."

"Drag Sam outta here now, before Lilith shows up!" Dean asked and Castiel shook his head with a sigh,

"It's a prophecy... I can't interfere."

"Surely there's something, Cas. You can't just leave us in the dark like this. Sam might die tonight." Rowan stepped forward after she calmed herself. Castiel looked to her,

"I can't step in... I'm sorry."

"You have tested me and thrown me every which way... and I have never asked for anything." Dean walked towards Castiel. Castiel avoided Dean's piercing eyes, "Not a damn thing! But now I'm asking... I need your help, please." Rowan felt a needle pierce her heart at Dean's sad tone of desperation. She looked to Castiel, hoping to help Dean out,

"Cas... there's always a loophole."

"What you're asking... not within my power to do..." Castiel shook his head stubbornly. Dean growled,

"Why? Because of this divine prophecy!?"

"Yes!"

"So we're just supposed to sit around and wait for this thing to happen!?" Dean shouted. Castiel's eyes burned into Dean's and he only shook his head,

"I'm sorry..." Castiel apologized and Dean's gaze dropped to the ground, defeated. Dean's hands clenched and he looked back up at Castiel,

"Screw you... screw your mission, your god!"

"Dean-" Rowan ended her sentence when she got a cold glare from Dean's eyes, quickly returning them to Cas,

"If you don't help me now... and when the time comes when you need me? Don't bother knocking..." Dean pushed past Castiel, leaving the angel to stand and wallow in his self-pity.

"Castiel, help us." Rowan breathed with desperation as she looked at him. Castiel's eyes struck recognition and he turned around,

"Dean!"

"What!?" Dean shouted angrily, turning around to face Castiel once again. Castiel's eyes narrowed,

"You must understand why I can't intercede... prophets are very special: they're protected."

"I get that!" Castiel continued after his outburst,

"If anything threatens a prophet, anything at all, an archangel will appear to destroy that threat... archangels are fierce, they're absolute, they're heavens most terrifying weapon."

"These archangels, they're tied to prophets?" Dean asked curiously, staring at Castiel with narrowed eyes. Castiel nodded,

"Yes."

"So if a prophet is in the same room as a demon?"

"Then the most fearsome wrath of heaven would reign down on that demon..." Castiel momentarily looked to Rowan, seeing a smile crossing her face. He brought his eyes back to Dean, "Just so you understand why I can't help." Dean smiled as the gears connected in his head,

"Thanks Cas."

"Goodluck." Castiel disappeared and the sound of his beating wings faded in Rowan and Dean's ears. Dean looked over to Rowan and nodded,

"Thanks Rowan... now, let's go rustle us up a prophet."

"No thanks. You go ahead, I'm going to stay here and watch Sam. Make sure nothing happens to him."

"You sure?" Dean asked and Rowan nodded with a smile,

"I can take care of it."

"Call me if anything happens." Dean wheeled around on his boot and jogged towards the Impala,

"Sure thing, Pretty Boy."

**.:=:.**

Rowan knelt down behind a tree, her hand grazing over her jacket pocket as she felt her pistol tucked safely inside. Her breath rose in front of her face, causing her eyes to brief stare at the phenomenon. Each time a car passed by the motel, she watched it drive by in hopes that it was Dean and Chuck. But alas, the Impala did not enter the parking lot to Rowan's dismay. The lights of the motel sign flickered and she watched the letters appear and disappear annoyingly. A cold breeze blew through the parking lot, causing Rowan to shudder and her red hair to tickle her face upon contact. Rowan quickly tucked her bangs behind her ear and kept her eyes focused on Sam's motel room. Her eyes narrowed when the door opened and Sam peeked out as if looking for someone. Quicker than he opened the door, he closed it and Rowan pulled her gun from her pocket. Rowan pulled out her cell phone next, dialing Dean's number and pressing it up against her ear,

"Dean... I think she's here." Rowan said quietly after he picked up the phone on the other end,

"_Keep your eyes out, I'm almost there!"_ Rowan tapped the _end_ button on her phone and shoved it back into her pocket.

Rowan gasped at the sight of Ellena popping out of nowhere, standing in front of the motel room door. Her little sister's hand grabbed the handle of the door and she charged in, "Ellena! No!" Rowan jumped to her feet and ran towards the room, hearing a sudden crash. Rowan dove through the door and Lilith and Ellena were squaring off, Sam shoved against the wall and watching helplessly.

"Lucifer is not going to be happy with you!" Lilith shouted as she slammed her fist into Ellena's stomach. Ellena recovered and threw her hands out, slamming Lilith against the wall,

"He can rot where he's been for thousands of years!" Ellena barked and Lilith only smiled, slowly peeling herself off the wall. Ellena watched in shock at her strength and Lilith balled her hand into a fist, Ellena's body freezing and her eyes widening.

"Ellena!" Rowan shouted and ran forward, seeing her sister's eyes turning bloodshot. Rowan yanked up her pistol and took aim, pulling the trigger and planting a bullet in Lilith's head. Her head cocked back and slowly, she looked back at Ellena, ignoring Rowan,

"See you back in hell..." Lilith tossed her hand forward and Ellena's body slammed into Rowan's. Their combined weight busted down the door and the force of Lilith's power tossed them across the parking lot. Rowan heard a car skidding to a stop as she rolled around on the concrete, groaning at her throbbing body.

"Rowan!? Are you alright!?"

"Don't worry about me!" Rowan gasped and looked over to Dean, "Get Lilith!" Rowan choked and heard his and Chuck's footsteps fade away towards the motel.

Rowan rolled around on her stomach, holding her arm as it throbbed violently. She couldn't tell if it was broken, sprained, or fractured. But the only thing on her mind was Ellena. She took a pretty big hit from Lilith. Rowan crawled over to her sister and leaned up, staring down at her unconscious face. Her hand rested on Ellena's cheek, "Ellena! Ellena wake up!" Ellena didn't flinch or even move a muscle. Rowan pressed her hand down on Ellena's chest, as if to heal her, but as she focused all her energy in her hand, she couldn't feel a thing. Not one sign of life resided in her body. Rowan suddenly panicked and grabbed Ellena's shoulders, beginning to shake her violently,

"Wake up dammit! I just got you back, you can't be gone!" She shouted, but yet, Ellena still didn't miraculously recover. Rowan felt tears welling up in her eyes and she sighed, closing them. She rested her forehead on her little sisters stomach, "Please don't be dead... you can't be dead." Rowan shouted and shoved her hands against her ears, hearing a deafening, high pitched scream echoing through her ears. But no matter how hard she pressed against her ears, the sound only became louder and louder. Rowan looked up at the sky, seeing a bright light shining down on the motel. The ground began to shake violently under Rowan and she felt warmth escaping her ears as they began to bleed. Her jaw muscles became incredibly sore as she gritted her teeth tightly, waiting for the carnage to stop.

Finally, everything disappeared suddenly and Rowan gasped, falling on her back and staring up at the black sky. She panted, closing her eyes and hearing her ears ringing in protest to the loud sound. Rowan glanced back over at Ellena's body, half expecting her to reappear to comfort her after to ordeal. But still, nothing stirred from Ellena.

"Rowan!?" Dean shouted and knelt down next to her, grabbing her arm and helping her lean up from the cold ground.

"Holy shit, are you alright?" Chuck asked and Rowan nodded,

"I'm fine..." She opened her eyes and stared up at Sam, who seemed unscathed, "Is Lilith gone?"

"Yeah... that Archangel scared her away." Sam nodded and he looked over at Ellena's body, "Is she alright?"

"No..." Rowan breathed and groaned, getting to her knees and crawling up next to her, "I don't know what Lilith did to her... but my sisters not in there anymore."

"Do you think she's dead?" Dean asked and Rowan shook her head,

"I'm not sure..."

"I don't think she is." Sam said and the three looked up at him. Sam stared down at Rowan and Rowan only,

"Lilith said she'd see her in hell... maybe she sent her back." The four heard police sirens and turned at the sound, hearing them getting closer and closer by the second. Dean looked back at them, thinking quickly,

"We need to get out of here. Sam, go get our stuff. Chuck, help me get Ellena's body in the trunk!"

"W-what? Isn't that illegal?" Chuck asked and Dean shook his head,

"Doesn't matter, we have to get moving." Dean ran around the side of the Impala and popped open the trunk. Chuck grabbed her feet while Dean heaved her torso up by under the arms. Awkwardly, they placed Ellena's body in the trunk, careful not to harm it and draw attention. Sam retrieved their gear from the motel room and they placed the bags in the back of the Impala so they didn't crowd Ellena's body just in case she came back.

"Up and at 'em..." Dean helped Rowan to her feet, hoisting her up by her good arm as her injured arm clasped against her chest. Guiding her to the back of the Impala, and although in a rush, Dean kept their pace slow as he noticed a limp in Rowan's walk. Helping her into the back seat, Rowan smiled up at Dean as she pulled her feet into the car,

"Thanks, Pretty Boy."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Wow lol two updates in this story in one week? I gotta admit, it's a lot of fun to write this story and it's glad to be back!**

**Reviews please!**

**Season 4, Episode 20: The Rapture**

_Rowan's feet moved flawlessly in her heels, a black dress sucked against her skin. A tall, dark haired, handsome man wrapped his arm around her waist, her other hand held in his. Their two bodies moved together in harmony, the music making Rowan's body unstoppable. They danced in a small ballroom and moved with the tempo of the famous style Rumba. The Latin dance was one of Rowan's favorites; but it was hard to find the right partner that was so willing to dance with her. The Rumba wasn't a fast tempo Latin dance, but slow and steady; more for exploring the other person's movements._

_Rowan closed her eyes, and once she opened them again, her eyes widened. Castiel appeared in the place of her dance partner, now holding her and keeping up with her movements, "Cas... what're you doing here? I didn't think you could dance." She asked curiously and Castiel shook his head,_

"_I can't... this is your dream."_

"_Dream? I'm dreaming?" She asked and the angel nodded,_

"_We need to talk." He brought Rowan's arm up with his and twirled his around in a circle, bringing her back into position, "But we can't talk here." Rowan's blue eyes saw a disturbance in his and her brows narrowed,_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Meet me here..." Castiel and Rowan stopped as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pale trench coat, "I cannot express its urgency. So please, get there as fast as you can."_

"_Cas-" _

_Castiel snapped his fingers._

Rowan awoke with a jolt, staring up at the red sigils painted on the concrete ceiling above her. She leaned up quickly and heard her hand crush a piece of paper into a ball, looking down curiously. Opening the paper, she saw an address scribbled in a beautiful format, "So he was here..."

Rowan tossed a quick glance at Ellena, who lied in the bed next to her. Not once in the past couple days did she move, twitch, or even breath in the depths of one of their fathers storage units. Wherever Ellena was, whether she was in hell or not, Rowan sure hoped she was alright. Being taken out by Lilith couldn't have been the funnest thing on the planet. But Lilith's words still burned in Rowan's mind, making her curious and fearful at the same time.

'_Lucifer is not going to be happy with you!'_

Chuck was right, her sister was hiding something.

Hearing Castiel's words replay in her head, Rowan jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket, tossing a glance at Ellena. She looked down to the devils trap on the floor, knowing she had to break it before she left just in case Ellena's demon soul showed back up. Scraping the tip of her motorcycle boots against the ground, the red spray paint lifted and stained the black leather of her boot. Rowan grabbed her helmet and opened the storage unit door, snapping the crotchrocket into neutral and pushing it outside. She shut the door and locked the padlock tightly back in its slot and slid her leg over the seat, straddling the bike and shoving her helmet on her head. With the turn of the key, the engine screamed to life and Rowan revved the accelerator. She smiled as she felt goose bumps crawling about under her leather jacket; it felt good being back on the open, two wheeled vehicle rather than being cooped up in the Impala.

Hours rolled by as she made her way across two states, averaging a speed of up to a hundred and thirty miles an hour to kill time. The tough wind of the midnight air grazed over the all leather outfit Rowan wore, feeling the coolness of the air under her clothes. Light from Rowan's jet black Ducati illuminated the highway in front of her, the mesmerizing yellow lines bouncing off her fiberglass face mask. Her chest pressed down against the gas tank, feeling the vibrations of the engine racing through her body and causing her adrenaline to pump faster. Finally, her eyes set its sights on the towns greeting sign and she slowed the bike to a calmer speed, continuing her way to wherever Castiel was held up.

The Ducati skidded to a stop in the dirt outside an old abandoned warehouse. Rowan leaned up on her seat and yanked off her helmet, staring at the shambles of the backwoods factory. "Why is it always an old warehouse?" Rowan murmured and slid off her seat, bringing both her feet to the ground and popping open the seat. Pulling out her pistol, she cocked it and shoved it in her jacket pocket, not forgetting a flashlight for the walk in.

She closed the creaky steel door behind her and clicked on her flashlight, shining the ball of light around the abandoned building. Factory machines lied dormant and rusted against each other; paper lied on the ground either wet or dry depending on the position of dripping water from the ceiling. A soft breeze whistled through the broken windows on the side of the building, Rowan shuddering briefly from the cold. She stepped lightly across the cracked, concrete floors, resting her flashlight over the top of her pistol hand. "Castiel?" Her eyes searched for her angel friend as the whisper of her voice echoed against the walls, but her ears picked up no answer. Rowan turned a corner, looking down the damp hallway and seeing many doors leading to more unknown rooms. She continued her journey through the factory, looking into as many rooms as she could for Castiel.

Rowan sucked against a wall to her next corner, hearing voices echoing down the next hallway. She steadied her breathing, seeing flashlights moving towards her quickly. With a silent, deep breath, Rowan waited for the right moment to strike at whoever was trespassing. Lifting her pistol, she jumped out from behind the wall and aimed at the two men standing in front of her. Her eyes squinted once they shined her light on her face, blinding her from seeing their faces. "Rowan?" Their lights lowered and Rowan's eyes desperately tried to readjust to the darkness of the factory,

"Dean? Sam?" Rowan took notice to Dean's familiar voice say her name and her flashlight shown on the two, "What're you guys doing here?"

"We're looking for Cas." Dean said and Sam sighed,

"I take it he came to you, too." Rowan lowered her pistol and nodded,

"Yeah... said it was urgent. But I can't find him anywhere."

"We can't either. We just looked through the entire west side of this damn building."

"We haven't checked upstairs yet, though." Sam stated and took a deep breath, seeing bright rings in her vision through the darkness caused by their bright flashlights,

"Well... let's get going then."

Rowan followed the two boys closely as they backtracked towards the set of stairs Sam had spotted earlier. The rickety old steel stairs buckled slightly under their weight, making Rowan question their ventures up the steps. But ultimately, Dean pushed them on and each other flashlights darted in different directions, trying to search for the familiar face of their celestial friend. Finally, they made it towards the top and Rowan's eyes narrowed, "What the hell happened here...?"

They found steady ground and Rowan stared in awe at the mass of steel structures that had crashed to the ground. Broken glass, steel, and electrical wire all strung about the second story to the factory, even a few beams broke through the floor. Dean and Sam stared in shock as well, sparks from the electrical equipment shooting off in all kinds of directions.

"Looks like a bomb went off..." Sam voiced softly, keeping his pistol and flashlight elevated for any danger.

"There was a fight here..." Dean looked up on the walls for any sign of blood. Rowan looked to him,

"Between who?" She asked and Dean stopped, taking in all the damage and turning in a circle. Something caught his eye on the wall and he narrowed his eyes, shining his flashlight on the object,

"Check it out..." Rowan and Sam turned, combining their lights with Dean into one big illumination. A large sigil bored down on them clad in blood, Rowan narrowing her eyes as she stepped forward to get a better look. "Look familiar?" Dean asked the two of them.

"Yeah... it does." Sam breathed and Dean sighed,

"They gotta use something like that to wish the angels back to the cornfield..."

"So what? Cas was fighting angels?" Sam asked and Rowan turned around, walking past them to search for any sign of her dear friend. Her mind began to grow into hysterics, seeing the damage inflicted upon the building.

"I don't know..." Dean said and turned around to follow Rowan, keeping his flashlight flicking on his surroundings.

"Oh god!" Rowan gasped and ran forward, squeezing through a jumble of steel to get to what she was seeing. There lied Castiel in the shambles of a pile of broken glass and metal. Rowan grabbed his shoulder, "Cas! Wake up!"

"Cas!" Dean jumped up next to him, leaning down and hovering over him with his flashlight. Rowan shook Castiel's arm hysterically,

"Castiel!" Her shouts met his ears and Castiel jolted awake, staring up at the three fearfully. He took in his surroundings as his blue eyes darted back and forth,

"What's... what's going on!?" Rowan heard the tone of his voice, taking it in as an unfamiliar individual. Rowan jumped to her feet, holding his arm as he tried to get to his feet,

"Just take it easy Cas!" Dean said and he jumped to his feet, pulling his arm from Rowan's grasp. Sam watched Castiel as he stumbled back,

"Cas, are you okay?"

"Castiel?" He directed his voice at the three hunters as they stared back at him, trying to gauge his condition, "I'm not Castiel... its me."

"Who's me?" Rowan asked while narrowing her eyes and he looked to her, his eyes still wide and fearful,

"Jimmy... my name's Jimmy."

"Where the hell is Castiel?" Dean asked confused and Jimmy shook his head,

"He's gone..."

"What do you mean _gone_?" Rowan asked and stepped towards him; Jimmy only continued to shake his head,

"I don't... I don't know I just-"

"Let's save the questions for later. We should get him out of here just in case whoever it was that took Cas comes back." Sam suggested and Dean nodded his head,

"Good plan. Let's get the hell out of here and get a motel room or something." Dean grabbed Jimmy's arm and pulled him towards him, "Come on, Jimmy."

"But we can't just leave... what about Cas?" Rowan asked worried and Dean shook his head,

"There's nothing we can do right now, Rowan. Let's just get him outta here for now; he might be able to help us out."

**.:=:.**

The four picked up a motel room in the local town, Jimmy tucked at their side safely. He was delirious in his surroundings, wondering what day it was, what time it was, and where exactly they were. Rowan kept a close eye on him; but her mind was elsewhere. It burned in her chest wondering Castiel's whereabouts and whether or not he was okay. That was the one person she couldn't afford to lose and not at a time like this. It scared her when she thought about the reason the angels fought; why they would attack their own. For all she knew they could be coming after her next. She had the biggest and closest tie to Castiel.

Jimmy sat down with some food to make up for his dying hunger; being an angel vessel wasn't easy. He was eating incredibly fast and already on his third burger. It was even making Dean sick, "Mind slowing down? You're gonna give me angina..."

"I'm hungry..." Jimmy slurped on his soda and Sam narrowed his eyes,

"When's the last time you ate?"

"I don't know... a month?" Jimmy shook his head, unsure. After taking a nice long swig of his soda, he took a large bit of his burger. He chewed violently, food dropping from both the burger and his mouth. Dean and Sam watched slightly disgusted and Rowan sat at the head of the table, her arms crossed and her mind asked a million questions a minute. One slipped out of her lips,

"What the hell happened back there?" Dean and Sam looked to Rowan briefly before back to Jimmy,

"It looked like some kind of angel battle royal." Sam said and Jimmy only shook his head,

"All I remember is a flash of light and I... just woke up and I was me again."

"So what? Cas just ditched outta your meat suit?" Dean asked and Jimmy chewed for a few moments, trying to remember what happened. He shook his head,

"I really don't know..."

"Do you remember anything about being possessed? Anything at all?" Sam asked lightly and Jimmy sighed, swallowing the large amount of food in his mouth,

"There were bits and pieces. I do remember a lot about you..." Jimmy looked at Rowan, "Rowan, was it? Yeah, a lot of the times I remember were with you. But, not a whole lot outside that. I mean... angel inside you? It's kinda like being chained to a comet."

"Well that doesn't sound like much fun..." Dean said and Jimmy nodded his head,

"That's an understatement."

"Cas said he wanted to tell us something." Rowan stood to her feet and leaned over the table, "Please tell me you remember that..." Jimmy looked up at her thoughtfully, trying to offer her an answer. But ultimately, he shook his head and his eyes lowered,

"Sorry..."

"Come on, what do you know?" Dean joined in, staring at Jimmy persistently. Jimmy's eyes fell to the table and he stopped chewing, continuing to search for an answer for the three hunters.

"My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois... I have a family."

"Is that it?" Dean asked and Jimmy shook his head,

"I'm sorry. I can't remember much..."

"Sam? Can I talk to you?" Dean stood to his feet and looked down at his little brother. Sam nodded and stood up, pressing down his shirt with his hands and Dean looked down to Rowan,

"Can you watch him?" Rowan didn't offer a verbal answer to his question, but looked up at nodded at Dean, her face solemn. Dean nodded and slapped a hand on her shoulder, walking past her and following Sam out the motel room door.

Rowan began to chew on her bottom lip as she waited for the Winchesters to return. Jimmy finished his food and got to his feet, beginning to pace the room like an animal. He wanted to get out, wanted out bad, and he was finally free from Castiel's grasp. But as he turned, he saw Rowan's tense shoulders and the far off look in her eyes. With a sigh, he sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed a hand down his face.

"I'm sorry this is happening. I can tell it's affecting you the most out of the Winchesters." He apologized and Rowan glanced over at him from the corner of her eyes, not saying a word. "I wish I could offer you an answer to Castiel's whereabouts and what happened to him. But I just can't remember."

"It's fine." She said while shaking her head, "I'm just worried about him. You may not know it but... angels can be ruthless."

"I can tell..." Jimmy nodded and narrowed his eyes, "You know... sometimes I can see into Castiel's memories. The most frequent one is when Castiel came to you. The night that you were wallowing in your own blood, half conscious... he usually thinks about it when he sees you."

"Enough." Rowan stood to her feet and faced him, "This isn't making me feel any better."

"I'm sorry I just... know how important you both are to each other." Jimmy apologized and the two heard the door open, seeing Dean and Sam returning. Jimmy stood to his feet and Dean sighed,

"Alright Jimmy... you have to stay here with us."

"I want to go see my family." Jimmy said plainly and Dean and Sam only looked at each other. Dean sighed,

"You can't go home... it's not safe."

"What the hell are you talking about I can't go home?" Jimmy narrowed his eyes questioningly. Dean shoved his hands in his pockets,

"There's a good chance you might have a bulls-eye on your back."

"What?" Jimmy asked doubtful, "From who?"

"Demons." Dean stated plainly and Jimmy shook his head,

"That's crazy. What would they want from me?"

"I don't know... information, maybe?" Dean shrugged his shoulders and Jimmy repeated himself with annoyance,

"I don't know anything!"

"I know, but-"

"Look! I'm done... okay? With demons, angels, all of it! I just want to go home." Jimmy pursued and Dean kept composure,

"We understand that."

"No! I don't think you do understand! I've been shot, stabbed, and healed; my body's been dragged all over the earth and by some miracle I'm out! I am done!" Jimmy's voice calmed, "I've given enough, okay?"

"Look, all we're saying is until we figure this out... the safest place is with us." Sam tried to convince as he stood up from leaning on the table. Jimmy sighed and looked out the window thoughtfully, then brought his gaze back to Sam,

"How long?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it..." Sam shook his head but Jimmy pushed past the two towards the door, but Rowan stopped him,

"Where are you going?" Dean asked and Jimmy looked back at Dean,

"To see my wife and daughter!" He tried to push past Rowan but she kept her hands tight on his clothes,

"You're not going anywhere." Rowan shook her head, "You're just going to put your family in danger."

"So what? Now you're on the boat and I'm a prisoner?" He asked Rowan and her eyes stayed dead set on him,

"That's a harsh way to put it." She said and Jimmy stepped back, staring at the three as if they were crazy. Slowly, he moved back towards the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, burying his face in his hands. Rowan turned around and grabbed the door handle, prying open the door and stepping out into the cool night air. Her face burned and her Rogan temper began to flourish,

"Rowan! Wait!" Dean stepped out as he saw her grabbing her helmet from her motorcycle, "Where are you going?"

"I need to get out of here... try to find Cas."

"And where are you gonna start? We don't have any leads as to where he is!" Dean shook his head and grabbed her helmet from her, watching her burning blue eyes glare at him, "You're not going to be able to find him."

"You don't understand Dean!" Rowan bit and shook her head, "I owe my life to him! If it weren't for Cas, I'd be dead right now!" Rowan sighed at the questioningly look on his face and walked past him, turning and leaning on the hood of the Impala. She rested her forehead on her fingers and took a deep breath, looking back up at Dean, "He's the only one that's been there for me since Ellena died... I can't just sit here and do nothing to help him."

"Running off and finding trouble isn't the best game plan to play right now." Dean walked towards her, "We need you here, with us, taking care of Jimmy right now. If the demons find us, we're gonna need all the manpower we can get and your powers sure can come in handy." Rowan sighed and crossed her arms, staring at the ground and avoiding eye contact with him. Dean continued to persuade her, "I want to find out what happened to Cas, too... but we can't do that without Jimmy. Just stay here with us and tomorrow morning we'll get straight to work. We're gonna try to head to Bobby's and see if he can't help us out."

Rowan's eyes managed to look up at Dean and a lump of air got caught in her throat. Letting out another sigh, she closed her eyes and nodded her head, "Alright... I'll stay." Rowan shoved off the Impala and yanked her helmet from his hands. Dean smiled,

"You can sleep in my bed if you want."

"No thanks." Rowan smiled and pushed past him towards her own motel room.

**.:=:.**

Rowan's head pounded and her eyes slowly opened, her blurry vision trying to comprehend her whereabouts. Groaning, she pushed her body up on her weak arms, letting out a gasp and latching onto her head. It felt like a million needles were being pierced into her brain with a hammer slamming into her skull. Her stomach lurched and she felt the bile clog up her throat, falling to her knees and crawling to the bathroom as quickly as she could. Her fingers clasped onto the rim of the toilet and she expunged the contents of her stomach into the bowl, her eyes narrowing upon seeing blood in the mix. Slowly standing to her feet, Rowan wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet, walking out of the bathroom and leaning on the door frame. The room began to spin uncontrollably and she heard the door knock a few times, Sam's voice ringing through her ears from the other side. She couldn't make out his words and her tired eyes looked to the door,

"Sam...?" Her voice echoed weakly through the room and she took a deep breath, hearing the door open. Rowan's body grew weaker by the second and her knees began to buckle under her as she clasped onto the door frame.

"Rowan? What the hell? Are you alright!?" Sam voiced urgently upon seeing her condition. Blood began to run from her nose and dripped off her chin, her eyes becoming bloodshot. Rowan's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body fell, Sam trying to catch her as she landed with a loud thud, "Rowan!? Rowan!?"

Sam rolled her over on her back and saw her eyes staring up at the ceiling. They were glazed over and her saw her mouth moving in whispers that he couldn't comprehend. Sam jumped to his feet and ran out the door to his and Dean's room, seeing Dean shutting the door behind him, bags in hand. "Dean!"

"Is Rowan ready yet? We need to get the hell outta here if we're gonna catch up with Jimmy."

"There's a problem Dean. Something's wrong with Rowan, something bad!" Sam voiced and backtracked towards Rowan's room. Dean narrowed his eyes,

"What the hell happened?" Dean followed after him quickly and rushed into Rowan's room, seeing her on the floor. Sam knelt down next to her and Dean rushed to her side, shaking her shoulder, "Rowan!" He watched lips moving in inaudible words, blood running down her cheeks that seeped from the corner of her eyes.

"I don't know what's happening. When I walked in she just fell to the floor."

"What's she saying?" Dean asked and brought his ear next to her lips, barely able to comprehend her words. Sam shook his head,

"I don't know..."

Dean hooked his arms under her shoulders and under her legs, lifting her up and walking towards the door, "Get all her stuff and get it in the Impala! We're getting her to a hospital." Dean rushed outside and Sam grabbed her bags, quickly meeting Dean to open the door for him. Dean pushed her small frame in the backseat, her head rolling towards him and her eyes moving to see him,

"Don't... no hospital..." She groaned and Dean narrowed his eyes,

"You're going. No buts." Dean shut the door and quickly jumped into the driver's seat, Sam in the passengers. Sam pointed out the window,

"What about her motorcycle?"

"We don't have time to deal with that right now." The Impala's engine growled to life and Dean shoved out of the parking lot. Sam looked over his shoulder, seeing Rowan's head rolling from side to side,

"She's in pain."

"Cas..." Rowan breathed and both Dean and Sam looked to her, "I can hear his cries... I can feel... his pain."

"Pain? What pain!?" Dean shouted and looked back through the windshield. Sam leaned over the back seat, staring at Rowan to get answers,

"What's going on Rowan? How can you hear him?"

"I'm trying... he can't hear me..." Rowan ignored his question, "They're torturing him..." Rowan's head rolled against the door frame and her eyes closed as she passed out. Sam grabbed her shoulder,

"Rowan? Come on, wake up!"

"What happened?" Dean looked through the rearview mirror, staring at her unconscious face. Sam pressed his fingers against her jugular,

"She passed out..." Sam rolled back around in the proper sitting position, staring over at Dean, "Torturing Dean?"

"We won't know until she wakes back up... if she wakes back up." Dean eyed Rowan, "She might've tried to contact him." He continued down the road, the streets wet with water from the rain that took over the sky during their slumber at the motel.

"Hey guys."

"OH!" Dean swerved on the other side of the road, startled out of his mind at the sudden appearance of a familiar face. His heart throbbed against his chest as he quickly brought the Impala back to the right lane to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Dean and Sam panted from the sudden adrenaline rushing through their bodies, each other them looking over their shoulder to see the fallen angel, Anna, sitting in the back seat next to Rowan.

"Smooth." She said and Dean kept his eyes on the road,

"You mind calling ahead?"

"I like the element of surprise." Dean looked back at her and took a double take, seeing her disheveled appearance,

"Well... you look terrific. Just about as much as Rowan." Anna eyeballed Rowan passed out next to her and then looked back at him,

"Uh... yeah not the most appropriate time Dean..." She leaned forward in the seat, "You let Jimmy get away?"

"Talk to Ginormo..." Dean shoved his thumb towards Sam and Sam's eyebrows narrowed at him. Anna looked to him for an answer,

"Sam?" She narrowed her eyes and leaned towards him, "You seem... different."

"Me?" Sam asked, trying to get the heat off him as he saw Dean's accusing eyes on him, "I don't know... a haircut?"

"That's not what I'm talking about..." Anna said and continued to stare at him. Sam only turned back around in his seat and stared through the wet windshield. Anna looked to Dean, "So? What'd Jimmy tell you? Did he remember anything?"

"No... what's going on?"

"It's Cas... he got sent back home. But more like... dragged back." She admitted and Dean looked at her momentarily over his shoulder,

"To heaven? That's not a good thing?"

"No... that's a very bad thing. Painfully... awfully bad." She said and Sam and Dean's eyes immediately looked to each other. "He must've seriously pissed somebody off."

"Cas said he had to tell us something."

"What?" Anna asked quickly and Dean shook his head,

"I don't know."

"Does Jimmy know?" Another question escaped her mouth and Dean sighed, shaking his head again,

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so? Whatever it is, it's huge! You gotta find out for sure!"

"That's why we're going after Jimmy." Sam replied while looking back at the red headed angel. Anna glared at him,

"That's why you shouldn't have let him go in the first place." Anna shook her head worryingly, "He's probably dead already..."

They all heard Rowan cough and Anna looked over to see blood staining her lips. Anna put her hand on Rowan's forehead, feeling the burning fever that formed in her head, "She's not looking too good."

"Can you tell us what's going on with her?" Sam asked and looked at Rowan's condition, seeing her skin turning pale. Anna sighed,

"I've never seen a human take on angel powers before." Anna looked to Sam, "I can't heal her."

"What do you mean you can't heal her?" Dean looked to Anna, "You're an angel."

"Who can't heal angel related problems." Anna stated and her eyes fell on Rowan, "She has a piece Castiel's power and her connection with him is deep... I think she might be stuck."

"Stuck how?" Dean asked and Anna shook her head,

"Maybe she tried to connect with Cas and got stuck when the angels started doing whatever their doing to him. What's happening to him up in heaven is definitely seeping into her."

"She said she could hear his cries... and that they were torturing him." Sam said and Anna looked to him shocked,

"That's not good. If she's experiencing whatever the head angels are doing to Castiel then her soul won't be able to take it much longer."

"So what do we do? Can we break the connection?" Dean asked and Anna gravely shook her head,

"No. Only she can... the best thing you can do is wait for her to wake up. Or wait for Castiel to show up. He's the only one that will be able to fix it."

"But when can-" Dean halted as he heard her wings flutter and her figure disappear from the view of his backseat. He shook his head annoyingly and Sam looked over at him,

"You think she's right?"

"I don't know..."

**.:=:.**

Rowan heard a soft hum, her head rolling across the back seat of the Impala. Slowly, her eyes opened and she saw nothing but a soft black around her, knowing it had to have been nighttime. Her vision eventually focused and her skin felt warm, a soft gasp coming from her lips. Rubbing her hand across her forehead, she leaned forward, realizing the humming she was hearing was the heater of the car. But she looked in the front seat, not seeing Sam or Dean anywhere. Her mouth was dry, but she could taste the faint trace of blood on her tongue. She didn't even remember when she woke up that morning or how she exactly got in the back of the Impala.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement and turned her head to see erratic shadows through the window of the house in which the vehicle was parked. Rowan narrowed her eyes and opened the door, hearing shouts coming from the other side. Rowan slammed the door behind her and her legs carried her heavy body up the stairs quickly. With her hand on the cold handle, she opened the wooden door and stepped in quietly. A shiver ran up her spine, hearing Dean's voice shouting for someone to run and get out of the house. Rowan looked around the corner, seeing Sam with his arm stretched out, using his powers to hold down a demon. But his hand fell to his side and he panted in exhausting, the female demon smiling,

"Can't get it up? Can you, Sam?" Her hand lashed out towards him and Rowan jumped out from behind the corner,

"No! But I can!" The female demon's eyes widened upon the sight of Rowan and her mouth opened, a scream shouting from her mouth as a cloud of black smoke blew from her core. Rowan grabbed the head of the smoke and shoved it back into her mouth, pressing her hand against the female demons face. "I don't think so, bitch!" The demon let out a loud shriek and Sam shielded his eyes from the intense bright light shining from the demons eyes, and faster than it appeared, it disappeared. As the demons vessel fell to the ground, unscathed from Rowan's powers, Rowan grabbed her head and hissed, stepping back upon feeling a sharp pain riddling through her brain.

"Rowan! You're alright!" Sam breathed with relief and Rowan opened her eyes,

"Feel shittier than I look." She groaned and the two turned once hearing footsteps, seeing Dean running back into the room and staring at the demon that once was. His eyes found Rowan and he stared at her surprised,

"Where'd you come from?" He asked exasperated and Rowan shook her head, continuing to press her hand against her forehead as if trying to heal herself,

"I woke up in the back of the Impala... where the hell are we?" She asked and Dean grabbed her arm,

"We'll explain in the car... come on! Hurry!" He helped Rowan out of the house and Sam followed closely behind them. They ran back out of the house and Rowan's eyes fell upon Jimmy, a teenage girl in his arms,

"Where's your wife!?" Dean asked and a woman came running to their side,

"Right here..."

"Get in the car... come on!" Dean pulled Rowan along and helped her in the car, Rowan hearing everyone trying to squeeze into the car. Dean sat her in the middle of the front seat, Rowan feeling Sam and Dean's shoulders against her. Dean pressed his foot down on the accelerator, the engine kicking into overdrive and the tires spinning out against the concrete to get its passengers to safety.

"Are you alright?" Dean asked, looking at Rowan briefly. Rowan clenched her eyes shut and nodded,

"Yeah... mind clueing me in on what's going on?"

"Well... Jolly Green over there let Jimmy out of his sight and he ran off. So after we found you passed out in your motel room, we took-"

"Wait... passed out in my motel room?" Rowan interrupted and looked at him confused,

"I walked into your motel room and you nose was bleeding. You fell to the ground and started mumbling words under your breath. You don't remember?" Sam asked and Rowan's eyes looked to him. She shook her head,

"No I... I don't even remember waking up this morning."

"Did you try to connect with Cas last night?" Dean asked, his eyes staring hard through the windshield. Rowan looked over to him,

"No..." Dean heard the hesitation in her voice and he looked into her blue eyes,

"Did you or didn't you?" He demanded and Rowan looked to the windshield, seeing the yellow lines of the road speeding against the car,

"I prayed to him... but after I didn't get a reply I just went to sleep." Rowan shook her head, "That's all I remember. What happened to me?"

"We don't know. Not even Anna knew." Dean's gruff voice said and Rowan narrowed her eyes,

"Anna? That red headed angel? I thought she was dead."

"Guess not since she showed up in the back seat and scared the holy hell out of me." Dean huffed and Rowan leaned back in the seat, staring at the dashboard of the Impala. Her mind wandered elsewhere as she desperately tried to remember what had happened and wondered why she couldn't.

Dean pulled the Impala into a parking garage and up they went. Floor after floor, they searched for a proper vehicle in which to send off Jimmy's wife and daughter. The two had to get somewhere safe and far from the hunters and vessel, no matter what Jimmy said. Finally, the fourth floor had overnight employee vehicles and Dean stopped his car, shutting off the engine. Dean, Sam, Rowan, and Jimmy all stepped out, leaving his wife and daughter inside to avoid hearing their conversation. Jimmy stared in through the back window at them, his tone regretful,

"You were right..."

"Sorry we were." Dean said and Jimmy shook his head,

"I'm telling you... I don't know anything." Jimmy referred to the demons wanting him for interrogation. Dean sighed,

"I don't think they'll be inclined to believe you."

"Even if they did... you're a vessel. They're gonna wanna know what makes you tick." Sam said and Dean nodded in agreement,

"Which means human dissection... if they're feeling generous."

"Now we're gonna tell you once again... you're putting your family in danger. You have to come with us." Sam demanded and Jimmy only stared at him, not knowing what to say. His head turned to look at his wife and daughter through the back window once again, taking the offer into consideration. He sighed and looked back at the trio of hunters,

"How long?" He asked once again and Sam looked away, annoyed, "And don't give me that _we'll cross that bridge when we get to it_ crap."

"Don't you get it? forever!" Sam said plainly, just getting to the chase in hoping it would make an impact on the stubborn man, "The demons will never stop! You can never be with your family... so you either get as far away from them as possible or you put a bullet in your head! And that's how you keep your family safe and there's no going home!"

"Don't sugar coat it, Sam. He might be too inclined to take the offer." Rowan mumbled while looking to him.

"I'm just telling him the truth Rowan..." Sam bit back, keeping his eyes on Jimmy, "Someone has to..."

"Can I have a moment with them... please?" Jimmy asked meekly and Dean nodded,

"Yeah..."

Jimmy turned around and opened the back door to the Impala, kneeling down outside. Rowan pushed the Winchesters back to give Jimmy some space, "You can't put that much pressure on the guy."

"Why not? I'm just telling him how it is. You know it's true." Sam looked down at Rowan and she stared back up at him emotionlessly.

"I know... but you have to take into consideration what he's been through. He hasn't seen his family in weeks. How would you feel if that happened to you?" Rowan crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Sam sighed and avoided her question as he turned around towards a car,

"I'm gonna get a car ready for them..."

"Never seen you show so much compassion before." Dean cocked a half smirk and Rowan only stared at him,

"I'm here to protect people... it's just not right to tear Jimmy away from his family. I understand the circumstances... but still. I just wish Cas would come back already."

Dean knew Castiel couldn't be dead if Rowan still had her powers. She didn't show any more signs of headaches or pain, showing that whatever was happening with Castiel was over and done with. He stared down at Rowan curiously and admiringly; she was an odd one.

Dean and Rowan noticed Jimmy stand up and he walked over towards them, rubbing his hands on his pants. His wife and daughter followed after, the echo of the vehicle's engine Sam had hotwired made her stare at him as he stepped out, "Okay so... here's your car." Sam walked past the three and stopped next to Rowan and Dean, watching as Jimmy gave his final farewells to his family.

"You take care of your mom for me." Jimmy said and kissed his daughter on the forehead. Dean opened the door to the Impala and Rowan stepped into the backseat. She watched Jimmy give brief eye contact to his wife before moving past her to the other side of the Impala. Dean started the engine once again and Rowan watched Jimmy sadly watch his family fade away behind them.

**.:=:.**

Rowan was losing track of time. It had to have been incredibly early in the morning but her eyes were less than tired for the first time in a while. Jimmy was passed out next to her, his head leaning on the doorframe of the passenger's door. The cab was quiet and stale, only the soft growling of the engine rumbling through Rowan's ears. She caught Dean's eye in the rearview mirror, knowing that he was making sure she was alright. She nodded reassuringly and stared back out the window, seeing the shadows of the trees passing by under the moonlight.

"What the hell happened back there?" Rowan listened in on the conversation brewing up between the brothers. She stared at them from the corner of her eyes,

"What?" Sam asked annoyed and Dean looked to him,

"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon." Rowan quickly remembered her having to kill the demon that Sam was unable to do with his own power.

"Okay I didn't faint... I got a little dizzy." Sam responded and Dean scoffed,

"Call it what you want but the point is... you used to be strong enough to destroy Alistair. Now you can't even kill a stunt demon number three? Rowan still killed her even in the condition she was in."

"What do you want me to say about it, Dean?"

"Well for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean, it's yo-yoing all over the place!" Dean looked to Sam and he didn't offer an answer, "I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? I'm just... you're just scaring me man."

"I'm scaring myself..." Sam admitted, staring out through the windshield. An awkward silence brewed in the car until Sam's cellphone rang. He rummaged around in his pocket and yanked it out, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear, "Hello?... who is this?" He asked confused and Rowan stared at the back of his head curiously. Sam pulled the phone from his ear and reached over the back of the seat, smacking Jimmy's arm and waking him, "Hey... it's your wife."

Jimmy took the phone hungrily and pressed it against his ear, "Amelia...?" Rowan looked over at Jimmy and slowly, his lips parted in shock and his face turned worried, "Oh my god..."

"What is it?" Rowan asked and Jimmy pulled the phone from his ear slowly. His eyes moved towards Rowan and she saw the fear in them,

"They have her... the demons have Amelia and Clair..."

"What!?" Dean asked in shock, looking over his shoulder, "How!?"

"I don't know but they... want me to meet them at the abandoned marina... alone."

"We just can't catch a damn break..." Dean said and pressed down on the gas pedal, Rowan feeling the Impala jolting forward with speed.

After twenty minutes of riding in the backseat and listening to Dean voice a game plan, the Impala rolled up to the abandoned marina, a giant warehouse standing on its lot. The four jumped out and Jimmy tossed his tan trench coat back over his body, stopping next to Dean, "Alright... if they're expecting you to come alone then that's what you're gonna do."

"We'll work our way through the cat walks." Sam said and Rowan nodded,

"I'll go around the back by myself."

"We'll be right behind you." Dean reassured and Jimmy turned around to face the three, "All you gotta do is stay calm and let us do our job."

"You want me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about!"

"Listen to me, this will work. You understand? Nobody's gonna get hurt." Jimmy didn't take Dean's assurance lightly,

"Whatever..." He tossed them unknown glances and turned around, walking towards the warehouse, "Give me a minute, okay!?" He called before disappearing into the run down building. Sam turned over towards Dean,

"There's no way he's expecting him alone, Dean. You know this is probably a trap?"

"Yeah I know... that's why I have a plan." Dean smiled confidently and he looked to Rowan, "You sure you'll be alright by yourself? You might not be at full power yet."

"You shouldn't worry about me. I can take care of myself." Rowan nodded and turned around to take position, "Worry about your own hides for once!"

Rowan trudged around the back of the building, hearing the waves of the lake crashing against the docks of the marina. She kept her eyes out for any sign of hostile movement as she moved flawlessly and quietly across the dirty ground. Her hand moved into her pocket to grab her pistol out of instinct, but she cursed herself in her mind when she didn't feel its reassuring steel touch her fingers. She didn't need her pistol anyways; it wouldn't have any effect of them. All she needed was her hands. Rowan pulled open a door, growling in her throat at the rebellious squeal the sounded through the room she entered. With a huff, she pressed in, the darkness of the room consuming her. Rowan steadied her breathing to keep even quieter than she already was, moving like a shadow around and over obstacles in her way.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rowan felt a hand on her shoulder yank her back and she gasped, wheeling around and kicking the individual in the chest. He stumbled back and stopped in the moonlight, a growl escaping his clenched teeth. His eyes flickered black and Rowan narrowed her eyes at the demon, his large burly size barely even intimidating her. "Is that all you got, Rogan?"

"Why don't you come find out asshole?" Rowan waved him towards her with a cocky smirk and the demon laughed, running towards her. Rowan jumped back as he swung his large fist, rocking forward and grabbing the demons arm. His eyes widened as she used his weight against him as she yanked him over her head, flipping him and slamming him onto his back. She shoved her hand down towards his face but he grabbed her arm at the last second. Rowan pushed all her weight down, her fingertips brushing against his cheeks. But it wasn't enough; she needed full palm contact in order to kill him.

"My turn." He smiled and rammed his arm against her leg, sweeping her feet out from under her. Rowan's breath skipped a beat as she landed hard on her back, gasping for air and seeing the demon hovering over her. She felt his large hands grabbed the collar of her jacket, lifting her as if she were a feather. Her blue eyes stared into his black orbs,

"That smile on your face is really annoying!" She gasped and he tilted his head,

"Well then... let me just get rid of it for you..." The demon took a few steps to the side and with the swing of his buff arms, he hurled Rowan's body into a wall.

Rowan bust through the wall and slammed against the concrete ground, rolling to a stop and arching her back. her eyes opened to encounter light and she looked around the room to see numerous unknown faces and Dean, Sam, Jimmy, and Amelia staring down at her. She growled and tried to get to her knees, "How is it I'm always the one getting my ass handed to me by oversized demons!?"

"I picked that one out especially for you." Rowan heard Amelia say and Rowan looked up at Amelia, seeing the demons true face through her. Amelia's eyes flicked up to see her large demon henchman stepping through the hole in the wall he created, "Watch out for her hands."

"Of course." He smiled and leaned down, grabbing Rowan by her arms and locking them behind her back. Amelia looked back at Sam and Dean,

"This is great... so many of you falling in my lap all at once."

"Okay... you got us. Now let these people go." Sam panted and Amelia's lips twiddled,

"Oh Sam... it's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Woman powers aren't working, isn't it? Now for the punch line!" Amelia cocked a gun and pointed it at Sam, "Everybody dies." Amelia hesitated and smiled, turning the gun around and pulling the trigger. Jimmy jolted as the bullet pierced his liver, his eyes staring down at the bullet wound as he fell to his knees. Rowan's mouth fell open,

"Jimmy!" She yanked at the demon's grasp to get free, but it was tight and firm. Blood poured from Jimmy's wound and he gasped for air from the pain. Amelia dropped the gun to her side and looked to one of her henchmen,

"Waste little orphan Annie." She moved around Sam and the demon nodded, turning and walking towards Clair, who was tied up in a chair. Rowan thrashed about in the demon's arms, trying to get away to help Jimmy and Clair,

"Quit moving around, bitch!" He shoved his elbow in the soft spot between her shoulder blades, knocking the breath out of her chest once again. Her legs buckled out from under her, but his monstrous strength held her securely. Rowan looked up and watched helplessly as the demon stood over Jimmy's daughter, him leaning down and picking up a heavy piece of steel. He brought his arms up and swung it like a bat towards her.

Clair's head flicked up and she stopped the bar with one hand, the demon staring down in shock. Clair shoved her hand against the demons forehead and Rowan narrowed her eyes at the bright light that shined throughout the room. Rowan smirked and stood tall against her feet, jumping up and ramming the back of her head against the demons. The demon stumbled back while holding his face, Rowan smirking and kicking him in between the legs. With a loud cry, he fell to his knees and Rowan grabbed his chin, bringing his face up to meet her eyes, "Nice try, Tiger." She smiled and her fingers crawled up against his face. He screamed out in pain and Rowan's eyes watched his eyes and mouth light up with her overbearing power. A twinge of pain briefly surged in her head as she watched his body fall to the ground; but she ignored it and turned to see Clair taking down the demon attacking Dean. As Rowan walked up to Jimmy's daughter, she looked over her shoulder at Rowan and watched her eyes soften. Rowan's worries disappeared all in that moment when she realized who was possessing the teenager,

"Cas...?" Clair turned to face Sam, as well as Dean and Rowan. He sat on a female demons chest, hunched over her and Rowan narrowed her eyes, stepping forward towards him. Sam stopped and felt their eyes on him, his back tense as he looked over his shoulder. Rowan's heart leapt in her chest upon seeing blood dripping off his chin and staining his lips. He huffed and looked back down at the demon he sucked the blood from, bringing his knife up over his head and ramming it down into her chest. Dean stared in utter shock and awe at the sight of his brother, Sam standing to his feet and turning around to face them. He threw his hand up, Dean and Rowan turning around to see Amelia stopped in her tracks. The black smoke of the demon possessing her flowed out of her mouth like a fountain and the black smoke crumbled at her feet, disappearing into the ground. Amelia fell to her knees and watched the black smoke dissipate.

Rowan's eyes watched Castiel as he moved around Amelia towards Jimmy. With a quick, concerned glance back at Sam, she turned back around and rushed over towards Castiel as he knelt down next to Jimmy. But Rowan kept her distance as Castiel threw her a warning glare. Castiel turned back to Jimmy, rubbing a hand through his hair, "Of course we keep our promises... of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home... where you can rest forever in the fields of the Lord."

"No..." Jimmy gasped painfully and shook his head, "Claire!"

"She's with me now." Castiel replied, "She's been chosen. It's in her blood... as it was in yours."

"Please Castiel... take me..." Jimmy plead desperately to the angel, "Take me instead!"

"I want to make sure you understand... you won't die or age. If this last year was painful to you, picture hundreds... a thousand more like it."

"I don't care..." Jimmy grabbed Castiel's shoulder, gasping with pain, "You take me... you take me!" Castiel stared into his determined eyes and he sighed with a nod,

"As you wish..." Castiel bestowed his hands on each side of Jimmy's shaking face and Jimmy's body lurched up, his eyes and mouth beginning to glow. Rowan's eyes squinted as Castiel transferred himself back into Jimmy. Claire panted and fell back, Castiel now staring at her through Jimmy's eyes. He got to his feet, the wound in his stomach now healed and walked towards Rowan, staring down at her. His eyes narrowed and watched Amelia walked past him towards her daughter, making sure she was alright.

"Are you okay, Cas?" Rowan asked and he only ignored her, moving past her and walking away. Rowan walked after him, "Castiel!"

"Cas, hold up!" Dean pursued him as well and Castiel stopped, turning around to face him. Dean looked down at Rowan briefly, "What were you going to tell us?"

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve heaven, I don't serve man..." His eyes slowly moved to Rowan, his tone unfriendly, "And I certainly don't serve you..."

**.:=:.**

Rowan sat in the back seat of the Impala, yet again, listening to the rain pelt the hood of the car. With her knees drawn to her chest, she stared out the window, listening to Castiel's words over and over in her head. There was something definitely off with him and it was scaring her. Rowan cut off her connection with him, not wanting to feel any more uncertainty and doubt in her head. Then her mind flipped to Sam, seeing the animalistic look in his eyes as blood dripped off his chin. She drowned out Dean and Sam's conversation in the front seat, Sam wanting Dean to chew him out for finding out his dirty little secret. Dean refused and headed in the direction of Bobby's house after he called Sam with some new information.

But Rowan knew what was coming.

Her eyes found the rusted old cars of Bobby's junkyard as they pulled into his long driveway. Rowan pulled her hair over to one side of her neck, popping open the door and stepping out into the rain. She stared up into the dark sky, feeling the rain slap her face each and every time it came into contact with her skin. "Hey Rowan, you alright?" Her neck cocked her head back up and Dean stared down at her, the dousing rain dripping off his face. Rowan nodded and watched Sam being welcomed in by Bobby, Bobby waiting for them to come inside.

"How you doin' kid?" Bobby's gruff voice asked while shutting the door behind Rowan as she stepped inside. Rowan sighed,

"Just hanging in there."

"What's up, Bobby?" Sam asked and Bobby looked to him, brushing past the younger Winchester brother,

"Come with me... it's down in the panic room." Bobby motioned for them to follow and Sam went first down the stairs towards the panic room. Dean and Rowan exchanged quick eye contact with each other before following the two down the stairs. Bobby looked over his shoulder, "Thanks for shakin' tail..."

"Okay... what do you got?" Dean asked, playing along as they came up to the panic room's door. Sam opened the door and the light turned on, Sam looking back at Bobby. Bobby pointed his finger into the room,

"Go inside, I gotta show you somethin'."

"Okay." Sam stepped inside and looked around the room, "So uh... what's the big demon problem?"

"You are... now this is for your own good." Bobby and Dean slammed the door to the panic room and Sam walked up to the door confused, staring out through the slots.

"Guys? What's going on?" Bobby shut the little door to the peer slots and latched it, looking to Dean as Sam began to panic, "Guys!? This isn't funny!"

Rowan turned around with Bobby and Dean, not looking back to offer Sam help as he began to pound on the door and shout with submission.


	12. Chapter 12

**Season 4, Episode 21: When the Levee Breaks**

The sound of clanging tools filled the cooling air of the South Dakota weather as the sun began to slowly make its way behind the surrounding mountains. Rowan's bright blue eyes stayed concentrated on her task at hand, winding a bolt back into its designated spot. Her Ducati sat on its kickstand, a bright halogen light illuminating the work in front of her. She pulled the oil filter out of the engine, checking it and putting it back in once she discovered its cleanliness. Yanking at the spark plugs, they were clean as a whistle and Rowan began to run out of things to check. She didn't know exactly why she was out tinkering with her motorcycle; it was just something to do at Bobby's while they all waited. Sam still sat in the panic room, the demon blood slowly draining from his body. Rowan didn't like the idea of the twisted intervention Dean had in mind but it was the only thing they could do at the moment. They didn't exactly have any information on intervening with someone who drank demon blood.

Rowan sighed and leaned back, falling on her rump and wrapping her arms loosely around her knees. Aimlessly she stared at her bike, getting lost in her thoughts as her eyebrows knitted in wonder. It had been almost a week since Ellena had disappeared, her body still sitting in the cold atmosphere of one of their father's storage units. She rubbed grease together on her fingers, feeling the cool stickiness as it rubbed further into the fingerprints of her skin. Rowan heard a pair of footsteps behind her, but didn't bother to look over her shoulder to see who approached.

"You've been out here for hours." Dean said with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, stopping behind Rowan and staring down at her, "Come inside; take a break."

"Why?" Rowan asked and looked up at him over her shoulder, "So I can listen to Sam scream and plead for us to let him out?"

"Look... I don't like it as much as you do. He's my brother for gods sake."

"I know it's just..." Rowan held her tongue and only sighed, rubbing a hand down her face. She placed her hands on the ground and lifted herself to her feet, spinning to face Dean. She saw the worry and stress in his face even though he thought he could mask it. Rowan felt for him; she had been in the same position numerous times. It just came with the job of being an older sibling. Even though she wouldn't really admit it, Rowan really liked being around the Winchesters. They were different from everyone else and she felt a strong tie with them even though she had only known them for a couple months.

"Shall we?" She motioned towards the house with her hand and walked past him. Dean watched her slim figure walk past him and soon followed suit as the two disappeared into the house just as the sun finished falling behind the mountains. The two hunters boots thudded across the floor as they stepped, Rowan's eyes immediately falling on Bobby as he sat at his desk in his cluttered house.

"Thought you'd never come back inside. Was hopin' I wasn't gonna be the one to drop a blanket on ya after you passed out next to that death trap of yours for the night."

"You sound like my sister." Rowan mumbled and sat down in a semi-comfortable chair. Her skin crawled upon hearing Sam beginning to scream and shout once again, her eyes moving towards the door leading down into the basement. With a discontent sigh, she heard running liquid and turned back to Bobby's position, seeing him pouring three glasses of aged whiskey. Rowan's mouth began to water as she saw the dark brown alcohol swivel in the glass. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a proper drink and she needed to feel its warm comfort in her belly. Even getting drunk for the first time in forever didn't sound half bad. Dean grabbed her glass, as well as his, and swung it around towards her. Not wanting to come off as grabby, she took it in her fingers calmly and instantaneously dropped a large swig down her throat. Sam's incredibly loud and strenuous cries faded for only a few seconds as the tasty whiskey slithered down her throat and into the pit of her stomach.

"_Stop! Stop!"_ Sam's voice echoed through the top room, his gasps and chokes being heard in his voice. Rowan saw the revolt on Dean's face, his eyes staring off into the unknown as his eyes glazed over.

"How long is this gonna go on?" Bobby licked his lips after the whiskey disappeared from his mouth and looked up at Dean briefly. He leaned forward in his chair,

"Here, let me check my demon detox manual." Bobby halted sarcastically, "Oh wait, nobody wrote one." Dean sighed and looked down, Rowan looking back and forth from them both and sipping on her alcohol,

"No telling how long it'll take..." She voiced, causing Dean to look over at her briefly.

"Who knows if Sam'll even live through it..." Bobby said and both Dean and Rowan looked back over at him. Suddenly, the phone rang and broke the tension between the three of them and Bobby's hand latched onto it instantly, downing the rest of his whiskey before he answered the phone, "Hello...? Suck dirt and die, Rufus! You call again and I'll kill ya!" Bobby slammed the phone back down on the ringer and Rowan smiled,

"Rufus? Haven't talked to that old bastard in a long while..."

"What's up with Rufus?" Dean asked curiously and Bobby sighed, leaning back in his chair,

"He knows..." The phone rang again and Bobby rammed it against his ear, "I'm busy you sum'bitch this better be important!" Rowan watched Bobby curiously while sipping on her glass, savoring each and every drink of the whiskey. Bobby's face knitted into shock and he looked back at Rowan and Dean, "Yeah... thanks. Call me if you find anything else out."

"What was all that about?" Rowan asked and Bobby huffed, standing to his feet and grabbing a stack of papers. He tossed some to Rowan and handed a small stack to Dean,

"Got news... but it ain't good."

"This is what Rufus called about?" Dean leaned on the desk and his eyes glazed over the papers briefly. Rowan flipped over a page,

"Key west: ten species go extinct?" Rowan said questioningly and Bobby nodded with resistance,

"Yeap. Plus in Alaska... fifteen man fishing crew all stricken blind, cause unknown. In New York... teacher goes postal and kills exactly sixty-six kids. All this in a single day?" Bobby paused and sighed with the shake of his head, "I looked 'em up... there's no doubt about it. They're all seals. Breaking, fast."

Rowan sighed and rubbed her forehead, groaning while shaking her head, "This isn't happening."

"How many are left?" Dean's gruff voice asked as he whirled around to face Bobby. Bobby shook his head unknowingly,

"Who knows? Can't be many..." Bobby looked down at Rowan,

"Where the hell are your guys' angel pals?"

"I wish I knew..." Rowan looked back at Bobby, "Cas really is the only one I talk to... or trust for that matter."

"Shouldn't even go that far." Dean said as he turned and walked past her towards the doorway of Bobby's kitchen. Bobby sighed and he and Rowan stared at each other for a few moments before Bobby broke the silence once again,

"I'm just wonderin'..."

"What?" Dean asked and turned back around to face Bobby. Bobby moved out from behind his desk and scratched his scruffy cheek,

"With the apocalypse being nigh and all... is now really the right time to be havin' this dramatic little drama of ours?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, obviously not getting the gist of what Bobby was saying,

"Well... I don't like this anymore than you do... Sam can kill demons! He's got a shot at stopping Armageddon!"

"So what?" Dean tilted his head and walked towards Bobby, "Sacrifice Sam's life-his soul- for the greater good? Is that what're saying? Times are bad so let's use Sam as a nuclear warhead!?"

"Look... I know you hate me for suggesting it-I hate me for suggesting it- but I love that boy like a son." Bobby was quick to defend himself against Dean's hard headedness, "All I'm sayin' is... maybe he's here right now, instead of on the battlefield, because we love him too much?"

Rowan could feel the tense air brewing around them again, making her slightly uncomfortable. After seeing the whiskey already gone in her glass, Rowan stood to her feet and walked towards the boys, "Let's not talk about this right now and you boys just take a step back. I know it's a serious matter but we can't sit here and play _twelve angry men_ against what were gonna do with Sam." Rowan was slightly at ease when Sam had somewhat calmed and stopped screaming in agony. Rowan sighed and glanced back and forth between Dean and Bobby, "How bout I make you boys a good ol' fashioned, home cooked dinner?"

**.:o:.**

Rowan stirred the pot of an old beef stew recipe and watched it carefully, the broth beginning to boil. The hot steam of the cooking food lifted up in her face, along with its glorious scent, and she let out a sigh of bliss. It had been a long time since she had made a home cooked meal; with Ellena dead and gone for almost two years there was no one there to appreciate her cooking. Rowan looked over her shoulder but couldn't find Dean. He had left the house over an hour prior to his talk with Bobby and hadn't returned since. Better yet, Sam was barely making a peep down in the panic room. Bobby sat at his desk, sipping on another glass of whiskey and staring off into space. All was quiet for the time being.

Rowan wheeled around on the heel of her boot and strode almost noiselessly towards Bobby. If he didn't feel her presence approaching, Bobby never would've forgotten she was even in the house. Looking up at her, Rowan elevated her whiskey glass down to the desk and Bobby knew what she wanted. He lifted the whiskey bottle and poured in a small amount; Rowan pressed the end of the bottle up, dumping more whiskey in, "Don't cheat me now, you old coot."

"You're the only woman I've met besides Ellen Harvall that likes whiskey just as much as I do." Bobby admitted while bringing the glass to his lips. Rowan leaned on the desk and sighed,

"Just eases the anxiety, you know?"

"Boy, do I know it." The two clanged their glasses together and took a large swig of the whiskey. Rowan licked the remainder off her lips and looked back towards the stovetop as the pot cooked their long awaited meal. Bobby smelled the air, "That your daddy's old stew recipe?"

"Yeah..." Rowan looked back to him, raising an eyebrow, "How did you know?"

"He cooked it once or twice on some huntin' cases we were on. Some good stuff right there..." Bobby nodded towards the pot and Rowan smiled softly, looking back at it,

"It sure is."

"So you a regular with the boys now?"

"What do you mean?" Rowan asked and her ice blue eyes glanced back at him curiously. Bobby shrugged his shoulders,

"First time you were with 'em you and Dean wanted to rip each other's throats out. Not one smart ass remark from you today; every time Dean called me he always had somethin' to bitch about and it was usually you. Now you're all buddy-buddy?" He asked and Rowan remembered when she woke up tied to a chair in Bobby's house, the three standing over her. She then swirled her glass of liquor and stared down at it,

"It's not really like that... I just know what he's going through." Rowan's gaze fell back on Bobby, "Sure I like giving him a hard time but I really can't bring myself to mess with him right now. Sam's hurting and so is Dean." Rowan lifted up from leaning on the desk and shook her head, her fingers running through her blood-red hair, "I just wish Ellena were here. She might be able to help or know what to do with Sam. She was pretty intent on protecting him."

"Why?"

"I don't know..." Rowan looked at him confused and sighed, returning back to the side of the kitchen stove. She picked up the ladle and began to stir the contents of the pot once again, seeing the many vegetables and meats bobbing up through the broth.

A few minutes passed and Rowan looked to the side door upon hearing it open and close. Dean stepped in from the cold night air, looking over at Rowan as he picked up the scent of her cooking. Rowan wheeled back around and grabbed a few bowls, dumping the hot stew into the kitchenware. She placed spoons in with the stew and turned around, one in each hand, walking towards Dean and Bobby. Handing Dean his and sliding Bobby's across the desk, Rowan placed her hands on her hips, "Eat up. This stuff will make you feel better."

"Thanks..." Dean mumbled and looked down at his bowl, toying with the stew with his spoon. Rowan noticed Bobby had already begun eating it, smiling at the sense of bliss on his face. She turned around and filled another bowl in the kitchen,

"I'm gonna go give some to Sam; he's gotta be hungry."

"I should do it." Dean was quick to get to his feet and Rowan put her hand up, shaking her head,

"You need to take a break there, Pretty Boy. I can handle it. You just eat up; there are plenty of leftovers." Dean watched as she disappeared behind the door leading to the panic room in the basement, hesitant on letting her go. But exchanging quick glances with Bobby caused his to slowly sit back down on the couch.

Rowan's feet finally met with the concrete of the basement, her eyes moving towards the large iron door of the panic room. She could hear soft mumbles coming from the room as if Sam were talking to someone else. Her hand brushed against the cold lock as she popped it open and pulled the handle of the door ajar. Rowan poked her head in first, seeing Sam standing to his feet in a defensive manner. Dark rings circled his eyes and his forehead was caked in a cold sweat; his chest heaving in soft pants and he stared at her once she walked in and closed the door. Rowan motioned the bowl towards him, "I brought you some dinner."

Sam was almost hesitant to talk to her and stared at the bowl in her hand. Rowan sighed and walked towards him, setting the bowl down on the bed for him. Her eyes moved back to Sam's face, his eyes quivering, "Rowan... you've got to get me out of here."

"I'm sorry Sam... I want to, but I can't."

"Yes you can... you just don't want to." Sam breathed tiredly, his body beginning to sway from the fatigue and strain from being locked in the panic room. Rowan shook her head,

"You did this to yourself... Sam."

"No... I've always been like this. It just took me time to evolve into _what_ I am now." Sam sat down on the bed in the middle of the panic room, his food almost spilling all over the bed. Rowan was surprised he hadn't made an attempt to escape _yet._

"Whatever happened to you to make you like this... it didn't shape you into the person you are now. You did it yourself; you made the decision to go through with it. For what? A little bit of power?" Rowan asked and Sam's eyes instantly bore into hers,

"Speak for yourself." Sam stood back to his feet and Rowan stood confident in the presence of his large stature, "Coming from the angel's little soldier. You wanted that power for a reason; it couldn't have been any different than mine."

"You don't know why I was given this power." Rowan bit back while narrowing her eyes and Sam huffed,

"And you don't know why I was given mine." Sam replied while making a point. Sam shook his head at her, "Who know if we can trust you? For all we know you could be Castiel's little informant."

"Please... you really think Cas isn't listening in on all of us right now? He doesn't need me..." Rowan smirked. Sam sighed and ran his large hand through his messy hair,

"Rowan... please." Sam placed his hands together in a pleading matter, his demeanor changing from hostile to gentle in a split second, "Take me upstairs with you so I can talk to Dean and Bobby... I can't last another minute down here."

"Sam... I can't-" Rowan was cut off when his hands gripped tightly on her shoulders,

"Rowan... I don't want to have to fight you to get out of here. That's how desperate I am."

"As much as I want to help you get out, I'm not going to. The only way to help you is to keep you in here and let that demon blood get worked out of your system." Rowan felt his grip tighten even more and he shoved her back, Rowan grunting when her back rammed up against the steel wall. Sam made a quick break for the door, but Rowan was on his tail in no time. She grabbed his arm and yanked him back towards her, kneeing him in the stomach and dropping him to his knees. Sam shouted out and tossed his heavy fist towards her, Rowan jumping back behind him and twisting his arm up behind his back. He gasped as Rowan slammed him to the ground, his burning cheeks clashing against the coolness of the concrete below him. Her knee dug in the middle of his back between his shoulder blades as she twisted his arm up even further. She gritted her teeth, staring through her red bangs down at the younger Winchester,

"You're only making it harder for yourself Sam. You're not going to win in your condition. Just accept the fact that we're trying to help you... it's already killing Dean inside doing this. Don't make it worse." Rowan finally let Sam go and his hand dropped to the floor, his fingers stretching from the annoying ache in his arm. He looked up at her over his shoulder, seeing her soft face offering no solace, "Just eat your dinner... please."

Rowan walked to the door and gave one last look at Sam before disappearing behind the iron door. As she locked it, she stepped back and jumped when she heard Sam slam up against the door, beating his fist against it. His desperate shouts echoed through the bareness of the basement, as well as Rowan's ears.

**.:o:.**

Morning rolled around faster than usual, the baring sun shining through the windows of Bobby's cluttered house. It was a slow start to the second day of Sam's intervention, Rowan waking up before the boys to make them breakfast. It was the least she could do to sooth the tension brewing in the rural house. She wanted to offer as much comfort as possible and the only way she really knew how to do it was to cook tasty food. Preparing plates for both Dean and Bobby, the three sat down at the kitchen table and ate in silence. The house was rather stale as Sam had not yet began his daily shouts and pleas; the only sound audible was the scraping of utensils against the plates and chewing of the delicious egg, bacon, and toast breakfast.

"Been a long time since I had myself a proper meal. Thank you kindly, Roe." Bobby sipped on a beer, nodding at Rowan acknowledging her cooking skills. Rowan shook her head,

"Don't thank me... it was nothing." Rowan glanced over at Dean, who continued to hold the same far off look on his face as he did the day before. Rowan's lips wrapped around the rim of her own beer bottle as she tipped it back and drank the bitter alcohol.

"Somethin' on your mind, Dean?" Bobby asked, breaking the tension yet again and asking the question Rowan wanted to. Dean looked up from his empty plate,

"Nothin' just... thinking about what Cas said to me last night."

"You talked to Castiel?" Rowan was quick to ask upon hearing her friend's name. Dean looked to her and nodded his head,

"What about?" Bobby said curiously and Dean got to his feet, staring at his surrogate father,

"About me joining the oh-so precious legion of heaven." Dean walked around the table and back into the living room, leaving Rowan and Bobby to wallow in his words. Bobby and Rowan stared at each other confused before Rowan jumped to her feet to follow in Dean's wake,

"What!?" Bobby was quick to follow suit of them both and the two watched as Dean leaned on the wall by the hallway. Sam's cries began to echo through the house for the first time that day, Rowan and Bobby tuning him out as they stared at Dean. "You made a pact with Castiel?"

"Yeap."

"Now correct me if I'm wrong... You willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?" Bobby asked with crossed arms and Dean narrowed his eyes at Bobby. He only shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sorry... you prefer sucker?"

"After everything you've said about them, no you trust 'em?" Rowan asked, knowing that Dean barely trusted the angels aside from Rowan. She knew Castiel more than he did. Dean shoved off the wall towards her,

"Oh come on... give me a little credit! I've never trusted 'em less! I mean they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan!"

"Well then why the hell did you-"

"Because what other option do I have!?" Dean shouted, cutting off Bobby as he now turned to face him, "It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon!" Bobby stared at Dean, not knowing what to say after a few moments. He nodded and opened his mouth,

"I see your point..."

Rowan knitted her eyebrows, as well as Bobby and Dean, once they heard the house go completely dead quiet all of a sudden. Rowan looked towards the door to the basement, Dean looking over his shoulder confusingly, "You hear that?"

"I don't hear a thing..." Rowan said on the dot and Bobby shoved off his desk,

"That's a little too much of nothin'..." The two men quickly flashed past Rowan and she followed in pursuit. Dean yanked open the basement door and the three descended down the stairs into the droll depths underneath the house. Jogging towards the door, Dean pulled open the small eye slot and stared in, not seeing Sam anywhere in his sights. His eyes grew frantic but his ears picked up the sound of choking and he looked down to see Sam seizing up on the ground, gasping for air.

"What if he's faking?" Dean asked and looked to Bobby, who snatched a glance of Sam on the floor. His eyes quickly turned to Dean,

"You really think he would?" Sam clawed the air and his strained voice let out a small cry of pain. Rowan shook her head,

"He tried yesterday..." Rowan jumped slightly as she heard something slam up against the wall.

"That ain't fakin'!" Bobby pulled the lock open on the door and opened it for Dean just as Sam began to roll across the wall, the demon blood taking its toll. Dean and Bobby latched onto Sam, prying him off the wall and slamming him down on the bed to try and steady his condition. Sam lurched about on the bed, Dean and Bobby continuing to struggle against his seizing body. Rowan stood over Sam, watching the veins throbbing against his skin and his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"We have to get him to calm down!" Rowan voiced quickly as she held Sam's chest down, watching Bobby rip off his belt. He tied it around his hands and gagged Sam with it, trying to keep him from thrashing around to hurt himself. Dean held the other side of the belt and stared down at his little brother, agony and fear piercing every fiber of his being.

"We're gonna have to tie him down for his own safety!" Bobby demanded and looked at Dean, but Dean didn't move to help. Rowan looked at Dean frantically,

"Dean! You with us!?" Dean continued to stare down at his brother as he lost his way, Rowan narrowing her eyes, "Dean!" She smacked her hand across his cheek and Dean gasped at the stinging pain, looking back at her, "We have to tie him down before he has another fit!"

"Yeah, yeah let's just get it over with!" Dean said and Rowan shoved all her weight down on the belt in Sam's mouth while the boys securely latched his hands and feet down on the bed. Rowan watched as sweat began to drip off Sam's forehead, his face becoming red by the useless attempts his body made to get away. She knew Sam wasn't doing it on his own; it was all the demon blood surging through his veins. As Bobby and Dean finished securing Sam's limbs, his core continued to flail under the locks of the bed. Rowan gritted her teeth and swallowed the dry air in her mouth, feeling the toughness of a lump rolling slowly down her throat. With one last decision, Rowan slapped her hands on his red cheeks, feeling his burning skin radiating of onto hers.

Rowan's head cocked back as her powers surged into Sam's body at attempts to soothing the fit going on in his body. White light burned out of Sam's eyes and he let out a sharp cry, Rowan's hands beginning to sizzle as if they were being burned. Dean and Bobby watched in awe as Rowan stumbled back once she pried her hands from Sam, her body slamming against the wall. Dean hovered over Sam, putting his hand on his little brothers face upon seeing Sam passed out.

"You alright kid?" Bobby asked and walked towards Rowan, her hands shaking and burning red from touching Sam's face. Rowan panted and looked up at Bobby,

"M-my hands... they burn so bad..." Bobby was a bit alarmed to see blood dripping from the corner of her right eye, her left eye beginning to turn red as well. Dean looked at Rowan's condition watching as Bobby gripped her shoulders and pulled her towards the door,

"Let's get some ice on 'em... hopefully it'll help." Bobby said and looked over his shoulder at Dean before walking out of the panic room. Dean looked back down at Sam, feeling the skin on his face now at normal temperature. His brows knitted together, seeing that there was no disturbed look on his face anymore as if nothing had even happened.

Leaning up, Dean walked towards the panic room door and stepped through, eyeing the demon trap on the floor in front of it. With one last look at a quiet and sleeping Sam, Dean shut the door behind him and locked it. He stepped up the rotted wood stairs leading up to the main floor of the house. He could hear Bobby's voice as he walked through the hallway, looking around the corner to see Rowan sitting in the lounging chair, holding her head. Bobby brought her a wet rag and a packet of ice,

"What the hell did you do to him?" Bobby asked and Rowan took the rag in her hands, sighing at the coolness it brought her. She wiped away the blood on her cheeks and shook her head,

"I tried to... redirect his pain." Dean stared at Rowan hard, remembering when he was in the hospital after Alistair's attack and what she did to steal all his pain to heal him, "I've never felt that sensation before. So much... burning."

"Are you sure you didn't overdo it?" Bobby asked and Rowan smiled,

"I've done worse to myself... I'll be fine." She looked up and watched Dean walk over to the couch and sit down, still clearly shaken up about the incident. Bobby looked back down at Rowan,

"Just let me know if you need anything. The last thing we need is two of you goin' haywire." Bobby said and Rowan nodded, watching him turn around and stand behind his desk. The three sat in silence among one another, Bobby sighing and looking towards the hallway,

"I'm gonna ask one more time..." Bobby caught both Dean and Rowan's attention, "Are we absolutely sure we're doin' the right thing?"

"Bobby... you saw what was happening to him down there." Dean stood to his feet and walked towards him, "The demon blood is killing him!"

"No it isn't..." Bobby shook his head and stood his ground against Dean, "We are!"

"What?"

"I'm sorry... I can't bite my tongue any longer. We're killing him, keeping him locked up down there; this cold turkey thing ain't workin'!" Bobby hesitated and sighed, "If he doesn't get what he needs, soon, Sam's not gonna last much longer..."

Dean's face turned somber and his eyes began to water, torn on what to do for his little brother. Bobby waited for Dean to say something as the house grew quiet once again, Rowan looking down at her shaking hands as she had nothing to say. Finally, Dean shook his head and looked back at Bobby, "I'm not givin' him demon blood; I won't do it."

"And if he dies?" Bobby asked almost shocked at Dean's refusal.

"Then at least he dies human!" Dean shouted and Bobby recoiled, not having anything else to say to Dean. Bobby's swallowed a hard lump down his throat and looked to Rowan,

"What's your take on this?" Bobby asked softly and Rowan looked up to the boys, seeing Dean looking over his shoulder at her. Rowan balled the wet rag up in her hand,

"I'm only following your guys' lead... I'm in no position to have a say in the matter." Rowan stood to her feet and wobbled slightly, Dean turning around to steady her but she pulled away from his grasp, "He's your brother, Dean... you do what you think is best for the boy. But do me a favor, both of you... leave me out of it from here on out..."

**.:o:.**

Night soon stirred up in the suburbs of the North Dakota rough country, the moon high in the cold night sky. It was late in the night, Rowan didn't know how late but she was far from tired. Her hands stung annoyingly from helping Sam earlier, her eyesight already restored from the overuse of her power. She sat in the lounging chair, her father's notes and hunting guide in her lap as she flipped through the pages. Dean sat hunched over on the edge of the couch with a stack of papers in his hand, the only light illuminating the room were that of a couple lamps. Bobby was already passed out on his desk, obviously succumbing to the mass stress of Sam's condition.

As Rowan flipped through the pages of her father's old book, Dean looked up from his papers and over at her. He saw the equally fatigued face on hers that he saw on Bobby's only a few hours prior. She was definitely something else; different from any hunter he had seen. But what confused him even more was the way she executed herself around them and how much interest and worry she showed for Sam. They hadn't even had known each other for more than three months; even so much as putting herself in danger, in what Dean assumed, to help him ease his pain. He quickly noted in his mind the night they came across the pack of werewolves. Rowan jumped off a cliff into a raging river to save Sam and even healed all his wounds the best she could _while_ healing her own.

Rowan sighed and rested her forehead against her hand, clenching her eyes shut as a burning headache began to brew in her mind. Dean knitted his eyebrows, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... just a headache."

"Eyes still bothering you?"

"No... I just..." Rowan opened her eyes and looked to Dean, her bright blue eyes softly boring into him, "Keep praying to Cas but he's not coming..."

"Yeah trust me... I stood outside shouting at him for two hours straight before he finally showed up." Dean shook his head and placed the stack of papers down back on the desk, careful not to wake Bobby. Dean sighed and looked over at Rowan thoughtfully, a question forming in his head but having trouble rolling off his tongue. Finally managing to muscle it off, the question scuttled through his lips, "I've been meaning to ask you... why are you and Cas so close? When he disappeared and we went on the manhunt for Jimmy you kept saying that you owed your life to him."

"It's a long story..." Rowan was quick to reply as she stared over at him, her father's book still open in her lap. Dean shook his head,

"We got all the time in the world right now." Dean said, but saw the diffident look in her eyes, "But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to... I was just curious."

Dean lied down on the couch and Rowan watched as he made himself comfortable. He clasped his hands over his stomach and closed his eye, taking a deep breath before descending off to sleep. Rowan nervously tapped her fingers on the leather finish of her family book as she closed it, her eyes searching for answers in Bobby's old hardwood floors. She didn't like to tell her story to other people; like every other hunter, it was hard to trust and open up to other people or hunters for that matter. Rowan closed her eyes and her hand moved to her hair as she draped her red locks over one side of her neck. Her heart began to throb and the pit of her stomach became sore, "It all started... a couple years ago. A little bit before that..." She voiced out softly and heard Dean shift in his position. He leaned up and looked at her,

"Back when Ellena went to hell?" He asked and Rowan nodded, fiddling with her hair nervously,

"Well, it was just about ten years before that... Ellena got really sick and we were on the run from the FBI, so I couldn't take her to a hospital. She lost a lot of weight and started puking up blood... I didn't know what to do until I found out about crossroad deals. So I went to a crossroads, did the ritual, and a demon appeared. I knew what was going to happen, but I didn't care. I just wanted my sister healthy again. So I sold my soul; he gave me ten years more years with her. Once my time was up I told Ellena." Rowan closed her eyes and shook her head, remembering the situation that unfolded, "I remember her face, the tone of her voice as she shouted at me... she was so mad. We got into an argument and I ended up leaving the motel we were staying in to clear my mind. Little did I know that a hellhound was after me only a few hours after. It attacked me, ripped me up... but all of a sudden it just disappeared. My wounds healed up and I felt fine. I went back to the motel to find Ellena but..."

Dean stared at Rowan's face as it began to grow somber, never seeing her like that before. Her blue eyes watered and faded off as she relived the moment, "She was on the floor, blood everywhere, ripped to shreds... a hellhound took her. I took her in my arms; she looked so serene as if she didn't even feel any pain. But inside... my heart shattered like glass. My entire world was gone... the only thing I lived for to protect, and I wasn't even there for her final moments." Rowan quickly wiped her eyes before tears began to stain her cheeks, not wanting Dean to see her cry, "I found a note on the table. It was basically a goodbye note just in case I didn't make it back to the motel. I found out she sold her soul to a crossroads demon in exchange for mine back. I hated myself for a long time and I was alone in the world. My dad was dead, mom was gone, and then it was so abrupt with Ellena. It was a month after her death and I couldn't take it anymore. But suicide... in my family it was always seen as so cowardly. I didn't want to disappoint my ancestors so I decided that if I was gonna go out, I was gonna go out fighting."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked quietly, his voice holding guilt and sympathy for the woman. Rowan sighed,

"I found a case; vampires... worked on it for a couple weeks until I found the nest. It was raining so bad that I could barely see in front of me. With my machete, I ran into their nest by myself and tried to take out as many of them as I could. All I remember is red... so much red and so many heads rolling across the floor. And then I was outside in the rain, crawling through the mud trying to get back to my bike. I couldn't crawl anymore and I just lied there, knowing I was going to die from the wounds I sustained during my fight with the nest. I was so cold and my vision was getting blacker by the second. A bright light came out of nowhere and I saw a figure appear; a man standing over me. Cas wasn't in Jimmy's body at this time... he came to me in a different vessel."

Rowan stared at Dean, seeing no questions in his eyes as he continued to listen. Rowan cleared her throat and resumed "He asked me why I wanted to die so badly. But after hearing my reasons he said that I still had purpose in this life; purpose to continue to help people and to help heaven extinguish the evil in the world. In exchange for my services to heaven, I would be granted a small amount of power to exterminate my enemies. So I made a pact with Cas and for a year and a half I grew into this new breed of hunter. I can't even count how many people I saved; how many lives I've changed for the greater good. Cas was there for me every step of the way, helping me when I got hurt... coming and talking to me when I was by myself, saving me if I needed it."

"I didn't think angels came to humans like that..."

"He said I was special; that I held more purpose than I knew." Rowan gripped the binding of her father's book tightly as she stood to her feet, "I owe Cas more than just my life. He may be an asshole angel at times... but he really is a good man." Dean only stared back at her, having nothing really to say to Rowan at that point. She nodded her head and dropped the book back on the chair, wheeling around towards the kitchen. He watched the lotus tattoo on her shoulder disappear once she threw on her leather jacket and walk out through the kitchen door into the cold air. Dean stood to his feet to pursue after her, but his eyes soon fell on the book that was sitting in her lap.

Picking the book up, Dean felt the soft old leather of its face under his fingers and rubbed his thumb against the old book. The flimsiness of it wobbled in his hands once he turned around to retreat to the couch in order to examine it further. Taking one cautious glance back at the door, Dean's eyes returned to his hands as he pulled the face of the book open and stared at the stained pages. He rubbed his fingers across old blood stains and the ink of whatever pen was used to write on the page. The words of a small preface stared up at him:

_**The Rogan Family Records**_

_**Let the record show our work as hunters and the vast data we collected from our enemies through numerous generations of our kin. God speed my future bloodlings. Remember who we are and the incredible importance of what we do. Live to Kill and Kill to Live.**_

_**Vargas Rogan, 1952**_

Dean's eyes narrowed at the words, not know what they completely meant and knew it would be another night before Rowan would want to talk about it. Flipping through the pages, he began to see vast drawings and paragraphs upon paragraphs on each page. There was information on monsters and demons that he didn't even imagine could be true; some things he didn't even hear about before: Different ways of killing those say monsters and demons, torture techniques, and ways to recognize them without doing too much research. But what astonished him the most was the thick section that focused solely on vampires.

In the dead of night, Rowan walked around out in the dark where only certain spots of Bobby's junkyard illuminated her way. With her hands sunk deep in the pockets of her riding jacket and her mind floating elsewhere, she still lingered on the story she told Dean. She couldn't gauge the expression on his face and didn't know exactly how he felt about her anymore. Rowan didn't like being pitied by other people; especially people she respected. The story she told; she always thought it made her look weak. Her past was chaotic with nothing but sorrow and death, rendering her into a slightly cold and merciless hunter. Rowan may have put on a front of a sarcastic, suggestive, and carefree woman, but deep down she was just broken.

Letting out a hot sigh, her breath formed around her face as she looked up at the bright night sky. Rowan chewed on her lip as she prayed to Castiel under her breath, seeing her motorcycle in the dim light of a pole. Walking forward, she came up to the black Ducati and sat down next to it, leaning on the heavy street bike. She closed her eyes and rubbed her bangs from in front of her face. The back of her head annoyingly rested against a hard piece of steel but Rowan soon ignored it as she opened her eyes to look around. Castiel was still nowhere to be seen or heard.

"You're such a jerk, Cas." Rowan huffed and crossed her legs while shaking her head, "I see you've taken a fancy for Dean Winchester. He must be more important than me now." She couldn't help but smirk to herself, continuing to talk as her words fell on assumingly absent ears, "I don't really care anymore... he's a pretty good guy; smart and strong, definitely worth heaven's time. Just don't tell him I said that, if you're listening, that is. You can sometimes cramp my style..."

**.:o:.**

'_Too cold...'_ Rowan thought in her head as the cold of the midnight sky sank through her jacket and against her skin. She wanted to get up and head back inside to try and get rest, but she was half asleep on the ground, still leaning against her motorcycle. She didn't even want to open her eyes she was starting to get so comfortable. Her fingers twitched as her body began to shut down for sleep, a deep breath escaping her rosy lips upon exhale. After sitting outside for hours on end, Castiel still didn't return to her side, no matter how much praying or talking she did. Even threatening her own life didn't work anymore. The angel was growing smart on her stale threats.

Her eyebrows drew together and her blue eyes slowly opened upon hearing a scuttle across the dirt through the junkyard. A soft '_thud_' came from behind her and she immediately jumped to her knees, staring over the seat of her motorcycle. She saw a large, shadowy figure walking through the maze of cars slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. Rowan quickly steadied her breath and unlocked the seat on her motorcycle, reaching in and grabbing her shotgun. Checking its load status, it had a few rock salt shells cocked and ready to fire.

Getting to her feet, her feline-like figure darted across the gravel of the junkyard inaudibly. Hiding behind cars as she went, she kept a close eye on the figure power walking through the junkyard as if searching for someone. Through the darkness, she couldn't identify who the person was, and more importantly, if it were a demon or not. The figure was too big to be Dean or Bobby; although it could be someone here to steal something.

Rowan finally pulled up her shotgun, aiming it at the tall figure as they began to tinker with the door of a car. She narrowed her eyes and stepped lightly on her feet towards them, finger on the trigger and ready to shoot, "Better pray your life doesn't end tonight." The figure wheeled around to face Rowan and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the individual. None other than Sam Winchester stared back at her, his eyes frightened and sickly. The sight of his fatigued demeanor made a stubborn lump roll down Rowan's throat. Even though she was completely confused on how he got out, she knew what she had to do, "Sam... you're not going anywhere. The only place you're going is back inside with me."

"No..." Sam was hesitant to say, but stared at her hard and determined. His eyes glanced to the shotgun in her hands, his chest heaving with soft pants,

"Dammit Sam... don't do this again. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"You won't shoot me, Rowan..." Sam slowly stepped towards her, his feet stumbling slightly,

"Don't test me..." Rowan shook her head and Sam continued to walk towards her, staring at the barrel of her gun,

"You won't do it... you're too sympathetic." Sam pressed his chest up against the barrel of her gun and Rowan gritted her teeth once he stopped. Her blue eyes looked up into his drained face, "You can't do it..."

"We're trying to help you Sam!" Rowan voiced with clear concern in her voice, "Why can't you understand that!?"

Sam looked down to the gun and grabbed the barrel, pulling it up to his heart and pressing his chest against it even further. Rowan stayed strong against his weight, her trigger finger beginning to shake nervously, "Then shoot..." His eyes began to water as he stared into her blue eyes. Rowan shook her head and a dry gasp escaped her lips,

"I'm not one to take demands lightly..."

"Then do it." Sam growled, "Put me out of my misery already!"

Once Rowan hesitated, she felt a sharp pain in her face as her eyes blacked out. A hard surface landed against her and she struggled to breath. Feeling her eyelids blink rapidly, she strained to try and see whatever she could around her; just trying to grasp onto some type of light source. The only things that seemed to work were her ears as she heard a car door open and a shuffle of feet. Moments passed by and the engine of a car roared to life, Rowan feeling goosebumps under her jacket in fear that Sam was going to run her over. The car's tires spun in the gravel and took off, Rowan feeling the wind generated by the vehicle passing her by. Her fingers clawed against the ground as she tried to crawl, her eyes finally beginning to adjust back to normal. She could see the redness of the cars taillights, along with the sound its engine, fading through the junkyard and eventually disappearing.

Rowan took a deep breath and jumped to her feet, stumbling back towards the house as quickly as she could. Even as they blurred around her, she dodged cars while walking through the maze. It was a cake walk for her. The cold steel of the rusted and broken down vehicles slid against her hands as she steadied herself, her boots crunching against the gravel.

"Rowan!" She heard Bobby shout and footsteps fast approaching her. Rowan looked up and watched both Bobby and Dean approach her. "Good God what the hell happened!?"

"I'm gonna kill him, Bobby!" Rowan growled as she stared at him. Bobby yanked out a handkerchief from his back pocket and pressed it against her face,

"Get all that blood off your face." Bobby said and Rowan took ahold of the situation, not even noticing that blood was seeping from her nostrils.

"What happened?" Dean asked with demand and Rowan's blue eyes looked to him. She sighed and pulled the handkerchief from her face,

"Sam... he's gone."

"Gone?"

"What the hell do you mean _gone_?" Dean stepped forward towards her. Rowan shook her head,

"He got out somehow... knocked my ass out for a few seconds while he made his escape. I tried to stop him-"

"Not hard enough." Dean spun around on his boot angrily and walked back towards the house. Both Bobby and Rowan followed in his wake and all the way down to the panic room. The heavy iron door squealed loudly as Dean opened it, the trio of eyes staring in at the empty bed in the middle of the room. Bobby stepped in, his eyes searching for some sign of a break in that led to Sam's escape. Dean stood in the doorway, "How the hell did he get out?"

"Maybe he had help?" Bobby pointed down to the devil's trap on the floor seeing the white paint broken. "Room full of busted devil's traps..." Rowan narrowed her eyes,

"Do you think he did it?"

"There's no way he's got that much mojo. Especially for how long he's been in here."

"Demons?" Dean asked and Bobby looked to him, Dean's face striking recognition, "Ruby...?"

"That'd be my guess."

"How she even touch the door?" Dean rubbed his hand down the door frame and Rowan eyed the other broken devils trap set outside,

"There's no way a demon like her could do this. She doesn't seem that strong."

"I don't know..." Dean squatted down and rubbed his fingers across the white paint of the devils trap. His eyes desperately tried to scan for some sort of clue,

"What difference does it make?" Bobby shook his head and slapped his hands on his thighs, "How he got gone ain't as important as to where he got gone to."

"Yeah well I tell you at this point... I hope he's with Ruby." Dean stood to his feet and looked at both Bobby and Rowan. Bobby raised an eyebrow,

"Why?"

"Because killing her is the next thing on my to-do list!"

"I thought you were on call for angel-duty?" Rowan asked through the handkerchief on her face. Dean began to walk away,

"I am on call, in my car, on my way to murder the bitch!"


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update this story, guys. I really feel horrible about neglecting it. It may not seem like it, but this story is kind of difficult to write and I didn't really know what I was in for when I started it. **

**And it doesn't really get a whole lot of reviews and that kind of sucks because I think people don't like it a whole lot.**

**But for those loyal readers out there... here's the next installment.**

**Season 4, Episode 22: Lucifer Rising**

The basement was cold with a small draft that wafted from the morning through a crack in the wall.

Rowan stood about a table, staring down at the large bowl in front of her. Dozens of ingredients cluttered the old wooden table, Rowan's hand placing them in the bowl, one by one in the proper order.

She let out a deep sigh and looked towards the panic room, seeing the door still wide open. Sam had somehow broken out of it the night before, knocked Rowan unconscious, and made his escape. Since then, Rowan had not heard from or seen Dean. The older Winchester went after his little brother in hopes of returning him safely to Bobby's.

But that wasn't easily the case. Rowan had been all over the property, trying to find something to do until Dean's return. She even tried reconnecting with Castiel once again, but he still would not respond to her. She hoped that Zachariah had not shut off her connection to him again or she would have to make an Asshole Angel house call to the arrogant soldier of God. She still had official, unfinished business with Zachariah.

Rowan shook her head of any ill thoughts and grabbed a match, lighting it, and staring at the bowl on the table in silence. Her fingers parted and the match fell into the mixture of unholy ingredients, a great ball of fire exploding from the spell. Under her breath, Rowan chanted a few Latin words with her eyes closed, and once she opened them, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.

Even with a demon summoning spell, her baby sister Ellena did not appear before her.

Rowan leaned over the table and pressed her hand against her face with disappointment, her blue eyes hiding behind her eyelids. She shook her head and angrily shoved her deep red hair out from her face, her fingers gripping the edges of the old table. With a loud shout, she flipped the table and kicked it as hard as she could, the table crashing against the wall and almost breaking in half. Rowan huffed and paced in a circle, her mind whirling as she tried to figure out what to do.

It killed her inside not knowing what happened to Ellena. She had just gotten her sister back after almost two years of being alone, yet she still couldn't protect Ellena.

Rowan slid down the wall and sat quietly to herself, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed. Her throat began to scratch as tears threatened to leak from her eyes, Rowan wishing there was more for her to do.

"So much for being a _special_ human..." Rowan mumbled as she opened her eyes, "I can't do shit sitting here..."

"_Well boo-hoo, I'm sorry your feelings are hurt, princess!" _Rowan's ear perked at the sound of Bobby's shouting voice. She shot up to her feet and looked to the stairwell, hearing another jumble of voices. Rowan narrowed her eyes and held her breath to focus her hearing.

She could hear Dean's voice.

Her heart leapt in her chest and she pushed forward quickly towards the stairwell, hearing Bobby and Dean bickering back and forth. Finally, Dean had returned, hopefully with Sam, and Rowan could finally group back up with them. It was what she had been waiting to do for hours on end.

She didn't know why she felt so excited to see Dean.

"Ah, ah, ah!"

Rowan heard a crisp voice behind her and her legs stopped, Rowan staring eyes wide at the wall in front of her. She swallowed hard and took a sharp breath, narrowing her eyes as she turned halfway to meet the man who held the voice, her face twisting in disgust. Her hand balled into a fist as she faced him, her blue eyes already burning with annoyance.

"Oh my, you don't look too happy to see me!" Zachariah smiled at her smugly, sucking in her agitated aura.

"Blow it out your ass, Zach." Rowan spit back at him and he winced as if her words had hit him physically,

"Ouch! That's no way to talk to your boss."

"I told you before... I don't answer to you." Rowan took a couple steps towards Zachariah, "What the hell are you here for?"

"You." He said thoughtfully and then looked at the ceiling above them, "And eventually, Dean. But I came to get you first because you're more of a, oh... how can I say this? A _nuisance_."

"You know, Zach, did anyone ever tell you your face looks like a hat full of assholes?" Rowan couldn't help but smile at her words and Zachariah smiled humbly, taking a few steps towards her,

"Oh Rowan... if you were half as cute as those words you spit then maybe you would have a man who could stand you. I mean... the ones you were with? Hard to think that they ran away from a charmer like you..." Zachariah laughed and on sheer reflex, Rowan jumped forward and sent her fist flying.

Rowan's body connected with a table and she grunted upon hitting the floor. She gasped and pressed her hand against her throbbing stomach, her eyes clenching shut as she got to her knees. But as Rowan opened her eyes, she stared in shock at her current surroundings.

An absolutely beautiful room surrounded her, Rowan having a hard time taking it in all at one time. Paintings littered the walls strategically, their contents painted on an inhuman level. Extravagant linings of gold plating rounded the doors and walls with intricate shapes and designs. Priceless looking bronze figurines and porcelain vases crowded the few tables that sat on the walls, Rowan barely wanting to even look at them in fear that they would shatter under her gaze.

Rowan then walked across the red carpet back to the table she hit, noticing the ornaments cluttering the marble platform were completely undisturbed by her sudden fall. Her gaze trailed up to the light fixture above her, a diamond chandelier glistening against her face. Her fingers brushed up against the marble of the table, the softness making her fingertips tingle as they touched it.

"Where am I?"

"Rowan!?" Rowan heard her named and jolted around, her lips parting at the sight of Dean standing before her.

"Dean!?"

"_What are you doing here!?" _The two hunters said in unison as they continued to stare at each other.

"Where did you come from?" Rowan asked as she watched Dean walk around the large, extravagant room. He took in his surroundings in the same manner she had.

"I-I don't know... I was talking to Bobby and then... I showed up here." Dean stopped by the wall and then turned around, his eyes still shocked, "What about you?"

"I was down in Bobby's basement..." She rubbed her hand through her hair, remembering the memory, "Zachariah showed up... we exchanged some sweet talk before I slammed against this table and ended up here."

"Sounds like it was fun..." Dean mumbled and stared at the room in awe, his body swirling around in circles so his eyes could gather it all in.

The two then froze, hearing the all-too familiar sound of beating angel wings.

"Hello Rowan... Dean." Castiel said as his two close friends turned to face him, "It's almost time."

"Time for what?" Dean was quick to ask and Castiel only stared back at him, not bothering to reply.

"Cas, what's going on?" Rowan took a couple steps forward, "Why are me and _Dean_ here, of all people?"

"You two have sworn yourselves to heaven and now it is time for you to be called upon. You both will wait here until it is all over, and after then, you will be unleashed."

"Unleashed for what? What the hell is going on!?" Dean barked but Castiel only stood humble, and in a blink of an eye, he disappeared.

"I swear sometimes I just want to break his jaw..." Rowan growled to herself and whirled around, staring at a painting on the wall.

"I want to do more than break his jaw..." Dean shook his head and walked past Rowan, his fingers brushing up against the marble table just as Rowan's had a couple minutes prior.

Rowan stared at the painting before her, seeing the oil of the paint shimmering from the light bouncing off of it. The scene was of two angels, one with dark hair in a dark red robe, one with blonde in a dark blue robe, and they were fighting each other. The dark haired angel had a spear and the blonde haired angel had a large, aggressive blade. They were on a hill, their wings outstretched with calm expressions on their faces. Bodies upon bodies were piled up on the ground below their feet, some hands of the living, barely clinging to life, outstretched towards the two angels. Rowan's brow furrowed at their calmness. How could they be so calm in a battle, especially with so many dead bodies below them?

"What the hell?" Rowan heard Dean say and she looked over her shoulder, her eyes dead set on the table in the middle of the room.

A huge plate of Krispy Kreme donuts, along with a plate of burgers on the other side of it, sat on the table. And in a big, ice filled gauntlet sat a large pint of Jameson whiskey and a few bottles of unlabeled beer circled around it. As the scent of the donuts and burgers wafted through Rowan's nose, she turned instinctively and walked towards the table, her mouthwatering upon seeing the delicious foods. The only time she remembered eating was the stew she had made the day prior.

Rowan watched Dean pull a bottle of beer out from the gauntlet of ice and stare at it confusingly. Rowan then looked back at the steaming pyramid of donuts, her fingers twitching when she thought about grabbing one and scarfing one down hungrily. But her instinct got the best of her and she balled her hand, knowing that it might be some sort of a trap.

"Hello Dean! Rowan!" Zachariah's cheerful voice made Dean put the beer back and Rowan take a step back. She landed next to Dean's side and the two stared at both Zachariah and Castiel standing before them, Castiel behind Zachariah, "You're looking fit, Dean!"

"Ah, how bout this?" Dean scoffed and turned fully to face Zachariah, "The sweet life of Zach and Cas!"

Zachariah didn't get the joke and only tilted his head confusingly. Dean shifted uncomfortably as he stared at the confused angels, "Its... never mind."

"Nice save..." Rowan mumbled beside him and Dean tossed her an annoyed pout.

"So what do we owe this beautiful and surprising visit to you two, oh-holy sons of bitches?" Rowan asked while placing her hands on her hips, her blue eyes looked to Castiel, who looked away from her to avoid her smoldering stare. "And where the hell are we, Zachariah?"

"Call it a green room!" Zachariah said, taking a couple steps towards her while slapping his hands on his vessels thighs, "We're closing in on the grand finale here. We wanna keep you two safe before show time!"

Zachariah stopped and stared at Rowan and Dean, their faces still staring at him untrustingly and annoyed. Zachariah grabbed a burger and held it out to Dean, "Try a burger! They're your favorite... from that seaside shack in Delaware? You were eleven... I think."

"I'm not hungry." Dean replied casually and Zachariah tossed the burger back where he got it and smiled,

"Oh? Then how 'bout Ginger from season two of Gilligan's Island? You have a thing for her, don't you?" He offered and Rowan looked to Dean seeing him looking up at the ceiling in deliberation at the idea. Rowan scowled and bummed his shoulder with her elbow, Dean looking at her with a drawn brow.

"Tempting..." He said as he looked back at Zachariah, "Weird..."

"With Mary Ann for free!?"

"No! No..." Dean shook his head and Rowan rolled her eyes at him.

"And what about Miss Rogan, over here?" Zachariah directed at her and she stared up at him with narrowed eyes, "A plate full of hot Krispy Kremes? Come on! I can bring you Aaron Johnson! Maybe a little bit of Liam Neeson on the side..."

"Liam Neeson?" Dean asked skeptically and before Rowan could answer, Zachariah did for her,

"She thinks he has a sexy voice."

"Enough!" Rowan barked and the two looked back to her, her demeanor less than happy, "Bail on the hollow deck, okay? I want to know what our game plan is!"

"Let us worry about that." Zachariah replied and wrapped his hands behind his back, "We want you... _focused... relaxed._"

"Well... we're about to be pissed and leaving." Dean interjected and Zachariah's dark eyes returned to him, "So start talking, Chuckles!"

"All the seals have fallen..." Zachariah sighed with the shake of his head, walking in between Rowan and Dean, past them, "Except one."

"And that is?" Rowan asked, both her and Dean turning around to face Zachariah. Dean stuffed his hands in his pockets,

"That's an impressive score! That's right up there with the Washington generals."

"You think sarcasm's appropriate, do you?" Zachariah turned around and stared at Dean accusingly, "Considering you're the one who started all this?"

Rowan put her hand on Dean's arm when she saw his body tense at the sound of the accusation. Dean looked down at her and she shook her head, looking back at Zachariah, "Just what are we dealing with here?"

"The final seal..." Zachariah smiled, ignoring Rowan's question and patting his hand on Dean's shoulder once he passed, "It'll be different."

"Why?" Dean asked, following Zachariah's body movements as he turned once again.

"Lilith has to break it, she's the only one who can. Tomorrow night, at midnight."

"Where?" Rowan asked and she took a couple steps forward, "I'm going to make her think hell is the new heaven."

"We're working on the location."

"Well, work harder!" Dean retorted back and Zachariah shook his head,

"We'll do our job... just make sure you do yours."

"Yeah, and what is that exactly!?" Dean asked annoyed, "I'm supposed to be the one who stops it, but how? With a knife?"

"All in good time." Zachariah replied rather calmly, where as if Rowan were talking, he wouldn't be so calm.

"Isn't now a good time!?" Rowan was getting more and more agitated by the avoided answers Zachariah was giving them.

"Have faith-."

"In you!?" Dean asked and stared hard at Zachariah, narrowing his eyes, "Give me one good reason why I should."

Zachariah closed the gap between him and Dean as if taking the challenge, the two staring hard at each other, "Because you swore your _obedience_. So _obey._"

Dean narrowed his eyes and stared back at Zachariah as strongly as he could, his eyes moving past him to Castiel, who also did his best to avoid Dean's glare. Zachariah turned towards Rowan, who stood silently next to Dean, and placed his thick hand on her jaw, "Don't even try to do what you're thinking about doing or I'll rip that tongue out of your mouth and make you eat it for dinner."

Rowan roughly tore her face from Zachariah's grasp and he glared at her with deadly intent, keeping his eyes on her as he turned fully around towards Castiel, "Come, Castiel. We have work to do."

In the blink of an eye, the two angels disappeared.

"I can't wait to get a chance to kill that asshole..." Rowan growled to herself, rubbing her jaw where Zachariah had gripped her tightly. Dean looked down at her,

"What were you thinking about do to him?"

"Stabbing him in the face with my knife!"

**.:o:.**

Dean paced the room, his footsteps clacking against the floor as he walked, and his hand flopping his cell phone against his other hand in boredom. He stared around at the paintings on the walls, his mind checking every possible way he could try to get out of the beautiful room. He looked to Rowan over his shoulder, seeing her sitting in a chair quietly to herself, her eyes closed and her arms crossed as if she were in her own sense of deep thought.

Dean let out a breath and rubbed a hand down his face, trying to figure out how long they had been in the room. It had to have been at least two hours since they talked to Zachariah and immediate boredom and anxiety began to set in. Dean finally stopped pacing and looked at the phone in his hand, staring at it for a moment before tapping it on.

"Ugh... screw it!" He growled and pressed the call button to Sam's number, pressing the phone against his ear.

Rowan opened her eyes and watched his back curiously, seeing him on the phone. She clasped her hands in her lap and leaned over, listening in on the voicemail he was obviously leaving Sam. The quick memory of an hour prior, when Rowan asked about Sam, rolled through the back of her eyes. Dean had explained what happened between him and Sam. Sam had retreated to Ruby's side and Dean had managed to track them down to a hotel, Dean finally confronting his little brother.

But alas, Sam had chosen Ruby over Dean, and after a fistfight between the Winchester brothers, Sam came out of top. After Dean told him if he walked out the door to follow after Ruby that he will shouldn't ever come back. Sam still walked out the door.

Dean slapped his cell phone shut and sighed, staring down at it as if he were waiting for Sam to call back immediately.

"Takes a lot of balls to apologize like that." Rowan said, fiddling with her thumbnail. She looked up at Dean, who still had his back to her, "A lot different of a man I expected you to be."

"And who would that be, huh?" Dean asked gruffly as he turned to face her, Rowan leaning back in the chair. Her bright blue eyes stared at him amusingly and she couldn't help but sprout a smile,

"Two timing, self-centered asshole with daddy issues..." She said and could see a snarl boiling under Dean's lips. She took a deep breath and nodded her head, "But... I've learned over the past few days that you're not _that_ much of an asshole."

"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Dean scoffed and shook his head, turning halfway to view a painting on the wall next to him. Rowan sighed and pushed herself up to a standing position, reaching across the table and grabbing the large bottle of Jameson whiskey from the goblet.

Popping off the cap, she walked over towards Dean and he looked over at her curiously, Rowan dipping the bottle back and taking a heavy swig. Licking her lips, she extended the bottle towards Dean, "Maybe once all this shit is taken care of... I'll take you up on that dinner offer."

"Really?" Dean asked while a charming smile grew on his lips, "Maybe a little happy time afterwards?"

"Don't push it..." Rowan shook her head, managing to capture his contagious smile. Dean took the bottle of whiskey and put it to his lips, dipping back and taking a bigger drink of it than Rowan.

He handed the bottle back to Rowan and she took one more drink before putting it back on the table. Rowan heard Dean's footsteps and watched as he walked towards a table on the wall, staring at the porcelain figurines standing proudly on the table. With one push of his finger, the figurine shattered into pieces once it met with the floor. Rowan couldn't help but smile and shake her head. Dean was adorably childish sometimes.

"It's nice to see you two getting along for once..." Both Rowan and Dean turned once Castiel's familiar, gruff voice flooded their ears. Rowan was relieved to see that he had shown up by himself this time around.

Dean looked at the floor where the porcelain figurine's pieces laid silently at his feet. Embarrassingly, he looked back up at Castiel, "Hey uh, Cas... can you do something for me?"

"Anything you wish." He nodded and Dean took a couple steps forward towards the angel,

"I need you to take me and Rowan to see Sam." He said and Rowan looked at Dean a bit confused. His demand came out of nowhere.

"Why?"

"There's something I need to talk to him about." Dean replied.

"What's that?" Castiel prodded and Dean shook his head, walking towards Castiel,

"The BM I took this morning! What's it to you? Just make it snappy!"

"I don't think that's wise..." Castiel said as he stared around the room as if looking for someone.

"Well... I didn't ask you for your opinion..." Dean approached Castiel and the angel faced him strongly,

"Have you forgotten the last time you two met?"

"No... that's the whole point." Dean and Castiel stared at each other in silence briefly before Dean continued, "Listen, I'll do anything you mooks want... I just need this one thing, five minutes is all I need!"

"No."

"Wow, Cas... never heard that come from your mouth." Rowan spoke for the first time in his presence, surprised at Castiel's word. He looked to her for only a mere moment before returning his gaze to Dean,

"What do you mean _no_?" Dean asked, a bit surprised at Castiel's refusal as well, "Are you saying that we're trapped here?"

"You can go wherever you want-."

"Super! I wanna go see Sam."

"But there..." Castiel warned.

"I wanna go take a walk."

"Fine, I'll go with you."

"Alone." Dean and Castiel continued to bicker back and forth.

"No!" Castiel repeated and Dean smiled, shaking his head,

"You know what? Screw this I'm outta here..." Dean pushed past Castiel towards a set of double doors in the room, Rowan walking intently as Castiel turned around,

"Through what door?" Castiel asked and as Dean turned back around from staring at Castiel, his eyes widened.

The doors were suddenly gone, as well as Castiel.

"Well... that went peachy." Rowan leaned back on the table and stared at Dean, who shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"I've had about enough of this shit!" Dean ran forward and grabbed a candle stand on one of the tables, tossing the candle to the floor. he wielded the candle stand like a baseball bat and ran forward, slamming the edge of it into the wall and making a dent.

"You gonna help me or what!?" Dean asked angrily towards Rowan, who crossed her arms casually and shook her head, "Why not!?"

"That's why." She nodded her head towards the dent he made in the wall and as Dean looked back to it, the dent in the wall disappeared, "Dean, we're in a room generated by the angel's power. You really think it's going to be that easy to break out of this place?"

Dean ignored her and ran forward again, slamming the candle stand into the wall vigorously. Back and forth, the iron stand crashed into the wall, Rowan watching with boredom as the giant hole that Dean created disappeared back to the original wall. Dean panted and stepped back from the wall, staring hopelessly at the wall that he could not break through.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean said as he tossed the candle stand to the floor.

"Stop hurling feces like a howler monkey, would you? It's unbecoming."

"I'm getting sick and tired of you assholes showing up out of nowhere." Rowan growled back at Zachariah, who stood behind her with an annoyed look. He tossed an angry glance at her back, noticing that she didn't bother turning around to face him, so he looked back at Dean as he angrily approached him.

"Get us out of here!"

"Like I told you... too dangerous out there, demons on the prowl! Rowan's got the right idea. Stay calm and stay put."

"I've been getting' my ass kicked all year! Now you're sweatin' my safety?" Dean asked and Zachariah only stared with his dark eyes, Dean suddenly noticing a glint in the angel's eye, "You're lying. I want to see my brother."

"That's..." Zachariah tilted his head to choose his word wisely, "_Ill advised._"

"My ass." Rowan whirled around to finally face Zachariah, "You just don't want us to get in the way of whatever you're planning."

"You know?" Dean's voice caused Zachariah to face him again, "I am so sick of your crap, Riddles, and your smug fat face. What the hell is going on, huh!? Why can't I go see Sam!? Oh, and how am I going to _ice_ Lilith!?"

"You're not." Zachariah sighed and dipped his head for a moment before looking back at Dean, "Going to _ice_ Lilith..."

"What?" Rowan asked and Zachariah looked to her,

"Lilith is going to break the final seal." Zachariah began to walk around them once again, "Phase is complete at this point... the train has left the station!"

"But me... Sam, Rowan... we can stop-!" Dean cut his own words off once realization struck his mind, Zachariah staring at him with a smug smile as he sat on the couch in front of Dean, "You don't wanna stop it... do you?"

"Nope! Never did!" Zachariah smiled, his finger pointing at Dean, "The end is nigh, the apocalypse is coming, kiddo, to a theater near you!"

"What was all that crap about saving seals?"

"With grunts on the ground we couldn't just... tell them the whole truth! We'd have a full scale rebellion on our hands! I mean really? Do you think we'd just let sixty five seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?"

"You son of a bitch!" Rowan shouted and ran towards him, Zachariah only smiling once Dean caught her. Dean held her tight from around her waist, Rowan trying to pry from his grasp.

"See? Rowan just made the perfect example!"

"How could you sit here and do that to us, to all the humans on earth!? You'll kill us all!"

"Rowan! Calm down!" Dean yanked her back again and turned her around to where she wasn't facing Zachariah. He leaned down, face to face with her, staring into her icy blue eyes, "Calm down before you regret it!"

"Dean..." She breathed, her eyes filled with both hate and worry, "You have no idea what's going to happen if all the seals are broken!"

"Why not!?" Zachariah laughed from the couch and Dean looked at him from over his shoulder, "The apocalypse! It made some bad marketing and sets people off, like Rowan dearest, when all it is, is all reforming on a slightly larger scale! And we lack our chances. When our side wins-and we will- it's paradise on earth! What's not to like about that?"

"What happens to all the people after your little pissing contest?" Dean asked in disbelief, his hand still softly gripped onto Rowan's arm just in case she wanted to do something stupid. Zachariah shrugged a shoulder and finally stood up from the couch,

"Well... can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs." Zachariah straightened out his business suit, "Well in your case... truckfuls of eggs but you get the picture."

Zachariah saw the astonished look on Dean's face and the still overly agitated expression on Rowan's. He let out a deep breath and walked towards them, "Look... it happens! This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered."

Dean's head slowly turned towards a figurine on the table next to him and Zachariah smiled, shaking his head, "Ah, no Dean you probably shouldn't bash my skull in with that thing... wouldn't end up too pleasant for you."

"What about Sam?" Dean finally asked his ultimate question, "He won't go quietly... he'll stop Lilith."

"Sam..." Zachariah drew in a long breath and nodded, "Has a part to play... and very important part. He may need a little _nudging_ in the right direction, but I'll make sure he plays it."

"What does that mean...?" Dean asked, closing the small gap in between he and Zachariah, his hand letting go of Rowan, "What're you gonna do to him?"

"_Sam, Sam, Sam_! Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! Forget about him, would you?" Zachariah smirked in a mocking tone while placing a hand on Dean, "You have larger concerns! Why do you thing I'm confiding in you? You're still vital, Dean, we didn't lie to you about your destiny! Just... emitted a few pertinent details... but nothing's changed! You are chosen! You will stop it! Just not Lilith... or the apocalypse, that's all."

"Which means?" Dean asked quietly and Zachariah looked to a picture on the wall in front of them. The man in the painting stood in black and red armor, staring down at a pit of demons below his feet,

"Lucifer..." He breathed while pointing at the painting, "Your own little Russell Crowe complete with a surly attitude! And when it's over... and when you've won... your rewards will be _unimaginable_. Peace, happiness, two virgins and seventy sluts!" Zachariah laughed while playfully slapping Dean's shoulder, "Trust me... one day we'll look back on this and laugh!"

"Tell me something!" Dean stopped Zachariah in his track as he tried to walk away from him, "Where's God in all this...?"

"God?" Zachariah asked, but did not turn to face Dean, "God has left the building!"

"I told you... Dean..." Rowan said quietly once Zachariah suddenly disappeared once again. Dean looked to the ground and Rowan shook her head, "This apocalypse thing I... back when I made the pact with Castiel... I didn't think it was going to end up like this..."

"Stop..." Dean said, "Just stop."

Dean turned around and stared at Rowan, his eyes filled with all kinds of mixed emotions. Rowan swallowed hard as he approached her, "We're not going to sit here and play the waiting game anymore. Rowan, you can help me try to get the hell out of here or you can sit there and continue to feel sorry for yourself! But me... I'm gonna go stop Lilith before any more of this gets out of control."

Rowan saw the determination in Dean's eyes, some type of determination she had never witnessed before. Sure, she was a stubborn asshole who didn't take shit from anybody and would do anything to save anyone around her. But when it came to the angels and what they had planned out for her, nothing scared her more. She hated to admit it to herself, but she was scared.

"I don't know what kind of beef you have with the angels or what's going on between you and them but you have to think for yourself now. You can either come with me or sit here and rot in this damned room!" Rowan's nerves calmed somewhat and she let out a sigh, shaking her head and rubbing her face. Dean waited patiently for her answer,

"I'll go with you..." She stared back into his blue-green eyes and her own wavered, "I'm just... scared of them, Dean."

"The angels?" He asked a bit doubtfully, "What did they do to you to make you so scared of them?"

Rowan opened her mouth to reply, but her words got caught in her throat in hesitation. With another shake of her head, she avoided his gaze, "I don't want to talk about it right now... let's just get the hell out of here."

"Fine..." Dean gave up easily, but he knew that now wasn't the right time to prod her of her worries.

With that, Rowan turned around and grabbed the candle stand from the ground and reached it up. With a deep breath, she swung all her weight into the stand and rammed it against the wall, breaking a huge hole into the wall.

Dean whipped out his phone and dialed Sam's number once again, listening to the ring on the other side of the line. He paced back and forth while Rowan was in the background slamming the candle stand into the wall. Dean's call went straight to Sam's voicemail once again and he cursed under his breath, pressing buttons on his phone to redial the number. But after a few more tries, the call went straight to voicemail again.

"This isn't working!" Rowan huffed and threw the candle stand across the room, hitting the wall.

"There's a reason for that..." Castiel said and jostled both of the hunters out of their current mindset. Castiel looked over at Dean, "You can't reach him, Dean. You're outside your coverage zone."

"What're you gonna do to Sam?" Dean asked, flipping his phone shut and putting it back in his pocket.

"Nothing..." Castiel sighed and walked towards a table on the wall, "He's going to do it to himself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rowan walked after Castiel and his blue eyes looked to the floor in hopes of avoiding her. She scoffed, "Right... right... you gotta tow the company line."

Castiel cowardly kept his face towards the floor, Rowan shaking her head and grabbing his chin so he stared her in the eye. His jaw tightened under her grip and she narrowed her eyes, "You look at me when I'm talking to you, you coward."

"Why are you here, Cas?" Dean asked from behind Rowan, Castiel's eyes moving from Rowan to Dean once she removed her hand from his face.

"Us three... we've been through much together... and I just wanted to say I'm sorry that it had to end like this."

Dean's eyes widened when Rowan's hand crashed against Castiel's cheek, her eyes burning with rage under her teary eyes. The redness of his vessel's cheek already glared back at them, Castiel not even bothering to turn to face her again.

"_Sorry!?_ That's all you can say to me? To _us?_" Rowan's hand ached so badly she feared that she may have fractured a bone, but at that moment, she didn't care.

"This is Armageddon Cas! You're gonna need a lot more than _sorry!_" Dean gritted his teeth at the cowardly angel.

"You must try to understand!" Castiel whipped his head back around to stare at Rowan and Dean, "This is long foretold! This is your-!"

"_Destiny_!?" Dean finished his sentence, his voice filled with doubt, "Don't give me that holy crap! Destiny-God's plan- it's all a bunch of lies you poor, stupid son of a bitch! It's just a way for your bosses to keep me and keep you in line!"

"You know what's real Cas?" Rowan pulled his attention back to her, the two tag teaming him, "People! Families! The relationships we have with each other! Our relationship, Castiel... you can't tell me our friendship was all for nothing... you really want to watch it all burn to the ground?"

"What is so worth saving!?" Castiel asked angrily as he advanced towards Rowan, Rowan taking a couple steps back, "I see nothing but pain here! I see inside you... your pain... your sorrows and confusion of being alone in this world! In paradise... all is forgiven. You, and Dean, everyone you know will be at peace with yourselves!"

Rowan sighed and dipped her head, placing her face in her limp hand. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Dean staring at Castiel, his body moving in front of Rowan to fully face the angel. Dean narrowed his eyes, "You can take your peace... and shove it right up your lily white ass. 'Cause I'll take the pain, the guilt, Rowan's sorrows and Sam as is... it's a lot better than living like some Stepford Bitch in paradise!

"This is simple, Cas!" Dean pushed forward when Castiel turned around to avoid him, "No more talk about being a good soldier! There is a right and a wrong here and you know it!" Dean angrily grabbed onto Castiel's shoulder and ripped him around to face him, "Look at me! You know it! Now you were gonna help me us, weren't you? You were gonna warn us about all this before you got dragged back to bible camp! Help us... now. _Please_!"

"What would you have me do?" Rowan was surprised that Castiel took the idea into consideration,

"Get us to Sam so we can stop all this from happening!"

"If I do that... we will all be hunted. We'll all be killed!"

"If there's anything worth dying for..." Rowan said from behind Dean and they both turned to face her, a tear rolling down her cheek, "This is it."

Castiel closed his eyes and shook his head, bowing his head towards the floor. Rowan smiled and huffed, "Well Cas... you might as well just rip my heart out and eat it."

"You are such a spineless... soulless son of a bitch!" Dean couldn't face Castiel anymore and turned around, walking away from him, "We don't care about dying, you're already dead, we're done!"

"Dean-."

"We're done." Dean repeated with a small crack in his voice.

Rowan only stared at the wall, not bothering to look at Castiel one last time before he disappeared.

Dean slowly looked over at Rowan, seeing her stale and anxious stature as she leaned against the table. He sighed and rubbed his fingers in his eyes, turning around to walk towards her, "Rowan, you-?"

"Just sometimes... I want to snap his neck." Rowan interrupted, closing her eyes, "It's like taking a rock and beating an already dead dog... he just doesn't want to listen, ever."

"He's programmed that way." Dean stopped next to her and leaned on the table also, "You should know that better than everyone."

"It's just..." Rowan shook her head to rid of the thought, "Never mind... I'm just done with it all..."

"Listen Rowan... there's something I've been meaning to tell you-"

Out of nowhere, Castiel grabbed Dean by the collar of his jacket and slammed him up against the wall, Rowan jumping to her feet and watching in shock. Rowan's hands latched onto Castiel's coat, but he shoved her back and outstretched his hand, slamming her against the wall behind him. Rowan tried to cry out his name, but he had managed to cut off Rowan's voice with just a glint of his angel powers. Castiel turned back to Dean and put his finger to his lip to signal silence, his hand sliding into the flap of his coat. With his other hand cupped over Dean's mouth, there was no way he would be able to make a sound.

Rowan saw the demon knife in Castiel's hand as he pulled it out, her eyes wide as they locked with Dean's. He shook his head as Castiel let him off the wall, putting his finger to his lips back to her. Rowan watched confused and felt Castiel's power falter as she slid off the wall, her feet finally connecting with the ground. Rowan took a deep breath and hurried forward, watching as Castiel slid the demon knife across his forearm, blood immediately surging from his veins and dripping onto the floor.

"Cas! What are you doing!?" She whispered to him and Castiel gave her a brief look,

"Saving you!"

With Castiel's free hand, he slid it over his blood and slapped his hand on the wall, beginning to paint a sigil in his own blood. He returned his fingers to the wound and spread his blood about in a circle, finally moving to the middle to square off the sigil. Dean and Rowan stood back and watched in awe.

"Castiel!" Zachariah boomed and the trio turned to see him glaring with clear anger, his feet marching him forward fast, "Would you mind explaining just what the hell you're doing!?"

Castiel slapped his hand on the sigil and an intense light exploded through the room, Rowan's arms flying up to shield her eyes.

"He won't be gone long!" She heard Castiel say and her vision pulsated as it tried to acclimate back to her surroundings, "We have to find Sam now!"

"Where is he?" Dean asked and Castiel stared back at him while handing him to demon knife,

"I don't know... but I know who does. We have to stop him Dean! From killing Lilith..."

"But Lilith is gonna break the final seal." Rowan spoke as she got closer to the two, Castiel's eyes wild as he stared,

"Lilith _is_ the final seal!" Dean and Rowan exchanged looks, "She dies, the end begins!"

Castiel grabbed onto Rowan and Dean's shoulder, Rowan's eyes flashing in light once again.

"Lady... sometimes you gotta live like there's no tomorrow!" Rowan took a deep breath and stared at Chuck on the phone, her heart pounding and stomach groaning from being transported in a long distance.

Chuck stopped and stared at the three standing before him, Rowan and Dean's eyes wide as they looked back. Chuck seemed utterly startled, "Wait... th-this isn't supposed to happen! No! Lady! This is definitely supposed to happen I just gotta call you back!"

Chuck shakily ended the phone call and returned his attention to Rowan, Dean, and Castiel standing in his living room. He breathed hard, "You guys didn't uh... hear that whole conversation, did you?"

"We heard enough." Dean nodded sternly and Chuck rubbed his scruffy face, his blue eyes wavy,

"You guys... you aren't supposed to be here!"

"We know." Castiel said and stepped forward, "But we need your help."

"About?"

"Sam..." Dean stepped next to Cas, "Where's Sam, Chuck!"

"I-I don't know!" Chuck stammered, throwing his hands up in front of him defensively. Castiel nodded,

"Yes you do..."

"Chuck..." Rowan stepped forward, Chuck's eyes hesitantly falling on her. He saw the worry in her eyes, "Please... Chuck. I know you don't want all this to happen either: the apocalypse. You have to help us, come on!"

"The angels will rip me an entire museum of new assholes if I do that!" Chuck shook his head, "There's no way!"

"Listen to me, Chuck." Dean's voice grew dark as he closed the gap between him and the meek writer, Chuck stepping back and ramming against the desk behind him, "If you don't tell us where Sam is... I swear to whoever is in charge up there that I will make you wish you were dead before those angels have any chance of getting to you first. Now talk."

Chuck gulped hard under Dean's eyes and his head nodded hastily towards the older Winchester. Dean stepped back and Chuck stumbled out from in front of his desk, his bony fingers desperately searching for some sort of information. Finally, his hand grabbed up a stack of papers and he handed some to Dean and Rowan.

The two began flipping through the papers.

"St. Mary's? What is that? A convent?" Dean asked once his eyes read a full paragraph of Sam's supposed whereabouts.

"Yeah! But you guys aren't supposed to be there! You're not in this story!" Chuck explained as briefly as he could.

"Yeah well..." Castiel looked to Chuck, "We're making it up as we go..."

"That's what I like to hear, Cas." Rowan smiled warmly, feeling her heart finally getting out of the pit of her stomach.

Suddenly, a high pitch ring sounded through their ears and the house shook violently, Rowan staring out the window. Another intense bright light shined through the glass of Chuck's window, her body freezing when she knew what was coming for them.

"Ah man, not again!" Chuck shouted as he observed all his cabinets and kitchenware breaking from the quake of his huge house.

"It's the archangel!" Castiel shouted and Rowan ducked when the light above them shattered into sparking pieces, "I'll hold them off! I'll hold them all off!"

"Cas, wait-!" Rowan shouted back at him and he shook his head, staring at her,

"Stop Sam!" Castiel shouted back, shoving his hand on her forehead aggressively.

Rowan gasped and opened her eyes, her pupils dilating under the dark room she was in. something bumped up against her and she looked over, seeing Dean standing in clear confusion as well. The two stood and took in their surroundings for a moment, the dark droll, concrete walls around them causing Rowan's skin to go clammy. Candles were lit on the wall and the arches of the hallway extended beyond Rowan's range of vision.

"Come on, we have to go!" Dean pulled Rowan along softly by the shoulder, Rowan following him loyally as they made way through a hallway. She looked back and forth, trying to find out just exactly where they were and where they needed to go.

"Which way!?" Rowan called after Dean, the two of them coming to a four way intersection of concrete walls. Dean's eyes desperately searched for which way, but then he heard a loud slam and immediately ran in its direction.

"Sam!" Dean's voice echoed loudly and the anguish of his voice made Rowan shutter as she ran after him, "Sam!"

Rowan and Dean stopped at the next corner, staring in shock when they saw Sam and Ruby standing through the doorway at the end of the hall. Ruby turned and looked at the two, a slim, sly smile crowing her face as she pulled up her hand. The wooden doors to the doorway slammed shut, causing Dean to jump forward.

"Sam!" He shouted again as he slammed up against the door, Rowan watching helplessly from behind that he was not making a dent, "Sam! Don't do it!"

Rowan ran forward and thrust all her body weight into the door, gasping when the intensity of the heavy door slammed through her body right back. She stepped back a couple steps and jumped forward again, pounding her fists against the door as hard as she could, "Sam! Don't kill her Sam!"

On the other side of the door, Ruby's shouts muffled through the door. She screamed for Sam to kill Lilith.

"_Don't do it!"_ Rowan and Dean shouted in unison, pounding their fists and ramming their bodies against the wooden door as hard as their muscles would let them.

The ground began to quake again and Dean and Rowan stopped, their eyes dead set on the door. Dean pushed Rowan back and stood in front of her just in case something was going to explode their way.

But alas, nothing came.

Then, dead silence filled the air and Dean and Rowan couldn't speak in the stillness, not knowing what to do.

"We've got to bust down this door."

"How? We've been trying!" Rowan replied back to him and Dean looked down at her with nothing but determination,

"We have to get that door open. One more time, with all we've got." Dean's face tightened as he looked back at the door. Rowan huffed and cocked a smile, tilting her head and stretching her shoulder,

"I sure hope you know what you're doing... Pretty Boy."

Their legs kicked off the cold, hard ground and they ran as fast as they could towards the door, Rowan gritting her teeth and bracing for impact.

The door burst open and Rowan slid to a stop, seeing Ruby crouched down next to Sam as she looked at them from over her shoulder. Dean snarled at Ruby, ripping the demon knife out of his jacket and charging towards the female demon.

"You're too late!" She smiled smugly and Dean shook his head,

"I don't care!"

Sam jumped up from behind Ruby and held her arms back, Dean plunging the demon knife into her chest. The orange light of her soul flickered from the cruelness of the knife, her mouth gaping open and letting out stifled moans of her last dying breaths. Dean twisted the knife in her black heart and she gasped, her entire body going limp once Dean ripped the knife out of her body.

Sam slowly looked over at Dean, who still stared angrily back after giving Ruby what she deserved. Slowly, Sam's eyes began to water and he shook his head, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry to ruin your bromance moment!" Rowan shouted when a beam of light pierced the floor in the middle of a bloody circle, "But we've got company!"

Slowly, the circle widened once the portal began to cave, the beam of light getting bigger and brighter with each second.

"Dean... he's coming!"

"Rowan come on!" Dean shouted over the ringing noise that began to roll in the air, Rowan instantly following after them towards the door.

Rowan, Dean, and Sam all slammed up against the wooden door as it slammed shut in their faces, Rowan's fist pounding against the door once again. She whirled around and slammed her back up against the door, staring at the circle of light once it finally grew to its maximized size.

Rowan fell to her knees, the high pitched ringing in the room becoming almost unbearable. She couldn't hear her screams as she shouted out in pain, not knowing what to do anymore.

She opened her eyes and all she could see was that bright, white light.

Her head turned to Sam and Dean beside her, the last thing she remembered was Dean's lips mouthing her name.


End file.
